RFID tag sensors and methods

• US 8,857,725 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2013
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilkinson, Bruce W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US13/943,695
• Publication Number:
  US 20130299583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/488, 235/451, 3405727-5729
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10178 including auxiliary means for focusing, repeating or boosting the electromagnetic interrogation field comparable booster antennas integrated on the record carrier itself G06K19/07794
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10297 arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00

Abstract

Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices for use in RFID-based sensors and related methods are described herein. In one implementation, an RFID sensor system includes an RFID device having a near field only RFID tag and a conductive element which functions as a far field antenna. The near field only RFID tag and the conductive element are located in at least a first position and a second position relative to each other; wherein in the first position, the RFID device only operates in a near field, and in the second position, the RFID device operates in both the near field and a far field. The system may also include an RFID reader and controller located within the far field to read the RFID device only when the components are located in the second position.

Claims

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

a door frame structure fixed in position;

a door coupled to a portion of the door frame structure and configured to be oriented at a closed position with respect to the door frame structure and moveable to an open position with respect to the door frame structure; and

an RFID device comprising;

a near field only RFID tag fixed to one of the door and the door frame structure, wherein the near field only RFID tag in and of itself does not function as a far field RFID tag;

a conductive element independent from the near field only RFID tag and fixed to another of the door and the door frame structure, the conductive element configured to function as a far field antenna; and

wherein the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element are configured to be located in at least a first position and a second position relative to each other depending on a position of the door relative to the door frame structure;

wherein the first position locates the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element relative to each other such that the conductive element is sufficiently decoupled from the near field only RFID tag in order that the RFID device only operates in a near field with respect to an RFID reader; and

wherein the second position locates the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element relative to each other such that the conductive element is sufficiently coupled to the near field only RFID tag such that the RFID device operates in both the near field and a far field with respect to the RFID reader;

wherein the first position exists when the door is in one of the open position and the closed position, and wherein the second position exists when the door is in the other of the open position and the closed position.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

the RFID reader located within the far field and outside of the near field with respect to the RFID device, the RFID reader configured to read the RFID device only when the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element are located in the second position where the RFID device operates in both the near field and the far field; and

a controller coupled to the RFID reader and configured to receive signaling from the RFID reader and correlate a reading of the RFID device to a first state of the RFID device corresponding to one of the open position and the closed position of the door.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the controller is configured to correlate a transition to the first state of the RFID device to an occurrence of one of an opening of the door and a closing of the door.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein, when the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element are in the first position, the controller is configured to correlate a lack of the signaling received from the RFID reader corresponding to the RFID device to another of the open position and the closed position of the door.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the controller is configured to correlate a transition from the first state to the second state of the RFID device to an occurrence of one of an opening of the door and a closing of the door.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the RFID reader is located within the far field and outside of the near field with respect to the RFID device, the system further comprising:

a controller coupled to the RFID reader and configured to receive signaling from the RFID reader and sense an occurrence of a transition between the first position and the second position.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the controller is configured to correlate to the occurrence of the transition between the first position and the second position to one of an opening of the door and a closing of the door.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the controller is configured to output a signal responsive to the occurrence of the transition.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the signal comprises an indication of the occurrence of the one of the opening of the door and the closing of the door.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the first position may be at one or more of a plurality of locations of the door relative to the door frame structure.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the near field and the far field are defined as a function of interrogation signals from the RFID reader having a frequency selected from one of the following frequency bands:

a low frequency (LF) band of about 125-134 kHz, a high frequency (HF) band including 13.56 MHz, an ultra high frequency (UHF) band of about at 860-960 MHz, and a microwave frequency band of about 2.4 and 5.8 GHz.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element are configured to be magnetically or capacitively coupled to each other when in the second position.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the near field only RFID tag and the conductive element are configured to be electrically coupled to each other when in the second position.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the near field is defined as a first region about the RFID device within one full wavelength of a carrier wave of interrogation signals from the RFID reader and the far field is defined as a second region about the RFID device beyond one full wavelength of the carrier wave.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the first position exists when the door is in the open position, and wherein the second position exists when the door is in the closed position.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a controller coupled to the RFID reader and configured to receive signaling from the RFID reader and sense an occurrence of a transition from the second position to the first position and correlate the occurrence to an opening of the door.

17. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a door position structure fixed in position relative to the door and the door frame structure such that when the door is open a predefined amount relative to the door frame structure, at least a portion of the door is positioned proximate the door position structure defining an at least partially open position of the door; and

one of;

another near field only RFID tag when the conductive element is fixed to the door, wherein the other near field only RFID tag in and of itself does not function as a far field RFID tag, wherein in the door is in the at least partially open position, the conductive element and the other near field only RFID tag are located relative to each other such that the conductive element is sufficiently coupled to the other near field only RFID tag such that the RFID device operates in both the near field and the far field with respect to the RFID reader, and wherein when the door is not in the at least partially open position, the conductive element is sufficiently decoupled from the other near field only RFID tag in order that the RFID device only operates in the near field with respect to the RFID reader; and

another conductive element when the near field only RFID tag is fixed to the door, wherein the other conductive element is configured to function as another far field antenna, wherein when the door is in the at least partially open position, the other conductive element and the near field only RFID tag are located relative to each other such that the other conductive element is sufficiently coupled to the near field only RFID tag such that the RFID device operates in both the near field and the far field with respect to the RFID reader, and wherein when the door is not in the at least partially open position, the other conductive element is sufficiently decoupled from the near field only RFID tag in order that the RFID device only operates in the near field with respect to the RFID reader.

18. The system of claim 17 further comprising a controller coupled to the RFID reader and configured to receive signaling from the RFID reader and sense an occurrence of a transition to and from the at least partially open position.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the at least partially open position defines one of a fully open door position and a partially open door position.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the door position structure comprises a door stop that is proximate to a portion of the door when the door is fully open.