RFID system with RFID readers and operating method thereof

• US 8,633,804 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2010
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sepracor Incorporated (Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited), Xueshan Technologies Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MStar Semiconductor Incorporated (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: Huang, Chih-Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan, Omer S
• Application Number:
  US12/704,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20100225445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/10.2, 700/295
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• 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: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10475 arrangements to facilitate interaction with further interrogation devices, e.g. such that at least two interrogation devices may function and cooperate in a network of such devices

Abstract

A radio frequency identification (RFID) system includes a host, a signal translating device and a plurality of RFID readers. The signal translating device includes a network receiving/transmitting module and an RFID receiving/transmitting module. The network receiving/transmitting module receives a control signal via a network and generates a translated signal according to the control signal. The RFID receiving/transmitting module generates an access command according to the translated signal, and transmits the access command via an RF signal. The plurality of RFID readers selectively generates an access signal or a relay access command according to the access command.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system, comprising:

a host, for generating a control signal comprising an identification code;

a signal translating device, comprising;

a network receiving/transmitting module, receiving the control signal via a network and generating a translated signal according to the control signal;

an RFID receiving/transmitting module, coupled to the network receiving/transmitting module, for generating an access command according to the translated signal and transmitting the access command via an RF signal; and

a plurality of RFID readers arranged according to a predetermined sequence, comprising a first RFID reader closest to the signal translating device lying within a signal transmission range of the signal translating device and other RFID readers, each of the other RFID readers lying only within a signal transmission range of a respective previous RFID reader and a respective next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence;

wherein the first RFID reader receives the access command from the signal translating device and, responsive to the identification code, is configured to generate an access signal according to the access command or to relay the access command to a next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence;

wherein the next RFID reader receives the access code from the first RFID reader and, responsive to the identification code, is configured to generate the access signal according to the access command or to relay the access command to the respective next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence until a target RFID reader indicated by the indication code receives the access command;

wherein the signal translating device provides a plurality of virtual RFID readers corresponding to the RFID readers, and the host communicates with the virtual RFID readers instead of directly communicating with the RFID readers;

wherein when one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers wishes to transmit tag information to the host, the tag information is transmitted to the signal translating device in a sequence reverse to the predetermined sequence, and the signal translating device translates a format of the tag information and transmits the translated tag information to the host.

2. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network receiving/transmitting module further comprises:

a network transmission protocol control module, for receiving and processing the control signal to generate an Internet protocol (IP) address; and

a network gateway module, coupled to the network transmission protocol control module, for generating the translated signal according to the IP address and a look-up table that records relationships between a plurality of IP addresses and the plurality of RFID readers.

3. The RFID system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the network transmission protocol control module is configured to support N IP addresses, where N is a number of the plurality of RFID readers.

4. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein when one of the RFID readers receives the access command, the RFID reader determines whether a destination of the access command is the RFID reader itself, and the RFID reader generates the access signal when the destination is the RFID reader itself or relays the access command when the destination is not the RFID reader itself.

5. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network is a wired network or a wireless network.

6. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the RFID readers is an ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID reader.

7. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers receives the RF signal, the target RFID reader determines whether the RF signal corresponds to the target RFID reader and selectively transmits the RF signal according to the predetermined sequence.

8. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the target RFID reader accesses the tag information from a target tag.

9. A method for operating an RFID system, the RFID system comprising a host and a plurality of virtual RFID readers corresponding to a plurality of RFID readers, the operating method comprising:

generating a control signal comprising an identification code by the host;

receiving the control signal via a network and generating a translated signal according to the control signal;

generating an access command according to the translated signal, and transmitting the access command via an RF signal; and

controlling the plurality of RFID readers arranged according to a predetermined sequence, comprising a first RFID reader closest to a signal translating device lying within a signal transmission range of the signal translating device and other RFID readers, each of the other RFID readers lying only within a signal transmission range of a respective previous RFID reader and a respective next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence;

wherein the first RFID reader receives the access command from the signal translating device and, responsive to the identification code, is configured to generate an access signal according to the access command or to relay the access command to a next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence;

wherein the next RFID reader receives the access code from the first RFID reader and, responsive to the identification code, is configured to generate the access signal according to the access command or to relay the access command to the respective next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence until a target RFID reader indicated by the indication code receives the access command;

wherein the host communicates with the plurality of virtual RFID readers instead of directly communicating with the plurality of RFID readers;

wherein when one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers wishes to transmit tag information to the host, the tag information is transmitted to the signal translating device in a sequence reverse to the predetermined sequence, and the signal translating device translates a format of the tag information and transmits the translated tag information to the host.

10. The operating method as claimed in claim 9, wherein when one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers receives the RF signal, the target RFID reader determines whether the RF signal corresponds to the target RFID reader itself and selectively relays the RF signal according to the predetermined sequence.

11. The operating method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the step of generating the translated signal according to the control signal comprises:

processing the control signal to generate an IP address; and

generating the translated signal according to the IP address and a look-up table that records relationships between a plurality of IP addresses and the plurality of RFID readers.

12. The operating method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the network is a wired network or a wireless network.

13. A signal translating device, applied to an RFID system, the signal translating device comprising:

a network receiving/transmitting module, for receiving a control signal comprising an identification code via a network, the network using a network protocol, and generating a translated signal according to the control signal; and

an RFID receiving/transmitting module, coupled to the network receiving/transmitting module, for generating an access command according to the translated signal and transmitting the access command via an RF signal,

wherein the control signal is received by at least one of a plurality of virtual RFID readers within the network receiving/transmitting module, and the translated signal is not output using the network protocol used to receive the control signal;

wherein the plurality of virtual RFID readers corresponds to a plurality of RFID readers arranged according to a predetermined sequence, comprising a first RFID reader closest to the signal translating device lying within a signal transmission range of the signal translating device and other RFID readers, each of the other RFID readers lying only within a signal transmission range of a respective previous RFID reader and a respective next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence;

wherein the first RFID reader receives the access command from the signal translating device and, responsive to the identification code, is configured to generate an access signal according to the access command or to relay the access command to a next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence;

wherein the next RFID reader receives the access code from the first RFID reader and, responsive to the identification code, is configured to generate the access signal according to the access command or to relay the access command to the respective next RFID reader according to the predetermined sequence until a target RFID reader indicated by the indication code receives the access command;

wherein when one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers wishes to transmit tag information to a host, the tag information is transmitted to the signal translating device in a sequence reverse to the predetermined sequence, and the signal translating device translates a format of the tag information and transmits the translated tag information to the host.

14. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 13, wherein a plurality of RFID readers of the RFID system selectively generates an access signal or relay the access command according to the access command.

15. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the RFID system comprises a plurality of RFID readers, and the network receiving/transmitting module further comprises:

a network transmission protocol control module, for receiving and processing the control signal to generate an IP address; and

a network gateway module, coupled to the network transmission protocol control module, for generating the translated signal according to the IP address and a look-up table that records relationships between a plurality of IP addresses and the plurality of RFID readers.

16. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the network transmission protocol control module is configured to support N IP addresses, where N is a number of the RFID readers.