Tracking RFID objects with integrated communication link

• US 9,035,772 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2006
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Soomro, Amjad, Alsafadi, Yasser
• Primary Examiner(s): Lau, Hoi
• Application Number:
  US11/917,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20090315717A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,260 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/573.1, 340/539, 340/573.4, 340/5.81, 340/539.12, 340/572.4, 340/825.49, 340/10.1, 340/10.41, 340/539.13, 340/539.1, 342/457, 342/386
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• 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 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• 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: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

A wireless system (101) includes a plurality of objects (106). The wireless system includes a controller 102 and a radio frequency identification (RFID) read-write (RW) device (103, 104, 105). Each of the objects includes an RFED device (107) and a transceiver (108). An object and methods of tracking objects are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A wireless system, comprising:

a stand-alone radio frequency identification read-write (RFID RW) device; and

a plurality of objects, each object including;

a radio frequency identification (RFID) device adapted to receive information from the RFID RW device;

a memory to store said information collected from the RFID RW device when the object is within a known transmission range to said RFID RW device; and

a transceiver adapted to communicate with a controller independent of said RFID RW device, said transceiver communicating said collected information to said controller based at least on a detection of an event matching at least one criteria;

the controller;

receiving the collected information from corresponding ones of the objects, and

determining a path of each of said corresponding ones of the objects based on the information collected from said RFID RW device, wherein said RFID-RW device is adapted not to transmit to said controller.

2. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein the controller is an access point (AP) of the wireless network.

3. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein the information from the RFID RW device is a location of the RFID RW device.

4. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein the information from the RFID RW device includes an identity of the RFD RW device.

5. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein the information from the RFID RW device includes at least one of:

a time that the RFD device traveled within the transmission range of the RFID RW device and a time that the RFID device received the transmission from the RFD RW device.

6. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein none of the plurality of objects is connected to a global positioning system (GPS) device.

8. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the controller queries each of the plurality of objects for providing the collected information.

9. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of objects autonomously transmits the collected information to the controller.

10. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a tracking application device, which compiles tracking information of each of the plurality of objects.

11. The wireless system as recited in claim 10, wherein the tracking application device queries each of the plurality of objects for the collected information.

12. The wireless system as recited in claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of objects autonomously transmits the collected information to the tracking application device.

13. The wireless system as recited in claim 10, wherein the tracking application device queries each of the plurality of objects for the collected information via the controller.

14. The wireless system as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of objects transmits the collected information to the tracking application device in response to the query.

15. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of objects is adapted to authenticate a request for the collected information.

16. The wireless system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of objects are selected from a group comprising:

cards, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile radio terminals, cellular phones with data terminals, portable computers, or two-way messaging devices, patient monitoring devices, mobile radio terminals, and merchandise tags.

7. The wireless system as recited in cairn 1, wherein the memory, the transceiver, the RFID device are integrated within each of the plurality of objects.

17. An object, comprising:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, adapted to receive information from a stand-alone radio frequency identification read-write (RFID RW) device when within a known transmission range of said RFID RW device; and

a memory to collect and store said information from the RFID RW device when the object is within the known transmission range to said RFID RW device; and

a transceiver coupled to the memory, wherein the transceiver is adapted to transmit, independent of said RFID RW device, the collected information stored in said memory to at least one of;

a controller and a tracking application device, wherein said transmission of said collected information is based at least on a detection of an event matching at least one criteria and wherein said RFID-RW device is not in communication with said controller or said tracking application device.

18. The object as recited in claim 17, wherein the information from the RFID RW device includes a location of the RFID RW device.

19. The object as recited in claim 17, wherein the information from the RFID RW device includes an identity of the RFID RW device.

20. The object as recited in claim 17, wherein the information from the RFID RW device includes a time that the RFD device traveled within the transmission range of, or received the transmission from, the RFID RW device.

21. The object as recited in claim 17, wherein the object does not include a GPS device.

22. The object as recited in claim 17, wherein the object is one of:

a card, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile radio terminal, a cellular phone with a data terminal, a portable computer, a two-way messaging device, a patient monitoring device, and a merchandise tag.

23. The object as recited in claim 17, wherein the RFID device and the transceiver are integral with the object.

24. A method of tracking objects, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of stand-alone radio frequency identification read-write (RFID RW) devices in a wireless network;

providing a radio frequency identification (RFID) device in an object;

receiving data from the RFID RW devices in the object when the object is within a transmission range of a corresponding one of the plurality of RFID RW devices;

storing and collecting the data received from the RFID RW devices in the object;

providing a transceiver in the object; and

transmitting, independent of said RFID RW device, the collected data from the object to at least one of;

a controller and a tracking application device, said transmission of said collected data being based at least on a detection of an event matching at least one criteria.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the method further comprises, before the transmitting the collected data from the object, querying the object for the data.

26. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the object is not queried for the collected data.

27. The method as recited in claim 25, wherein the querying is performed by the controller.

28. The method as recited in claim 25, wherein the querying is performed by the tracking application device.

29. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the transceiver is a WLAN device.

30. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the object is one of:

a card, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile radio terminal, a cellular phone with a data terminal, a portable computer, a two-way messaging device, a patient monitoring device, and a merchandise tag.