Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag having multiple antennas

• US 9,514,402 B1
• Filed: 11/20/2015
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Kim, Hyun Seok, Park, Chan Won
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Application Number:
  US14/947,750
• Time in Patent Office: 382 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 235/492, 235/486, 235/487, 235/375, 235/380
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0724 the arrangement being a circuit for communicating at a plurality of frequencies, e.g. for managing time multiplexed communication over at least two antennas of different types
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0726 the arrangement including a circuit for tuning the resonance frequency of an antenna on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 1/08 by means of variable impedance element H03C1/28 - H03C1/34, H03C1/46 - H03C1/52, H03C1/62 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/04 Modulator circuits; Transmitter circuits

Abstract

Provided is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag having a plurality of antennas. The RFID tag includes: a plurality of antennas each configured to backscatter received Radio Frequency (RF) signals; a digital and memory circuitry, which once the RF signals are received through the plurality of antennas, is configured to generate a series of programmed encoding signals based on identification information to be transmitted, and to output the generated signals; and a modulator configured to vary power of an uplink signal backscattered through the plurality of antennas based on the encoding signals input from the digital and memory circuitry, in which the modulator operates such that the power of the uplink signal backscattered through each of the plurality of antennas is equal regardless of types of the encoding signals.

Claims

1. A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, comprising:

a plurality of antennas each configured to backscatter received Radio Frequency (RF) signals;

a digital and memory circuitry, which once the RF signals are received through the plurality of antennas, is configured to generate a series of programmed encoding signals based on identification information to be transmitted, and to output the generated signals; and

a modulator configured to vary power of an uplink signal backscattered through the plurality of antennas based on the encoding signals input from the digital and memory circuitry,

wherein the modulator operates such that the power of the uplink signal backscattered through each of the plurality of antennas is equal regardless of types of the encoding signals.

2. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the modulator operates to vary the power of the uplink signal backscattered through the plurality of antennas according to the input encoding signals.

3. The RFID tag of claim 2, wherein the modulator is connected with each of the plurality of antennas, and comprises a plurality of variable impedance circuits having different impedances.

4. The RFID tag of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of variable impedance circuits comprises:

a plurality of additional impedance elements, which have different values from each other and are capable of being connected in parallel to a base impedance element of the tag; and

a switching device configured to control each of the plurality of additional impedance elements to be connected to the base impedance element.

5. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein an Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulation scheme is applied to the modulator.

6. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas are two in number, and the encoding signals are 2-bit signals.

7. The RFID tag of claim 6, wherein the modulator comprises two variable impedance circuits which are connected to each of the two antennas to vary the power of the uplink signal backscattered through the plurality of antennas according to the input encoding signals.

8. The RFID tag of claim 7, wherein each of the two variable impedance circuits comprises:

two additional impedance elements, which have different values from each other and are capable of being connected in parallel to a base impedance element of the tag; and

a switching device configured to control each of the two additional impedance elements to be connected to the base impedance element.

9. The RFID tag of claim 8, wherein in response to the encoding signal being ‘

01’

or ‘

10’

, the switching device controls a first additional impedance element, among the two additional impedance elements, to be connected in parallel with the base impedance element.

10. The RFID tag of claim 9, wherein in response to the encoding signal being ‘

11’

, the switching device controls a second impedance element, among the two additional impedance elements, to be connected in parallel with the base impedance element.

11. A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag having a plurality of antennas, the tag comprising:

a first antenna and a second antenna each configured to backscatter respective received Radio Frequency (RF) signals;

a modulator configured to comprises a first unit modulation circuitry configured to be electrically connected to the first antenna to vary power of an uplink signal backscattered through the first antenna, and a second unit modulation circuitry configured to be electrically connected to the second antenna to vary power of an uplink signal backscattered through the second antenna; and

a digital and memory circuitry, which once the RF signals are received through the first and the second antennas, is configured to generate a series of encoding signals with identification information to be transmitted being encoded therein, and to output the generated signals,

wherein the modulator operates such that the power of the uplink signal backscattered through each of the first and the second antennas is equal regardless of types of the encoding signals.

12. The RFID tag of claim 11, wherein an Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulation scheme is applied to the modulator.

13. The RFID tag of claim 12, wherein each of the first and the second unit modulation circuitries comprises two variable impedance circuits to vary the power of the uplink signal backscattered through the first and the second antennas according to input encoding signals.

14. The RFID tag of claim 13, wherein each of the two variable impedance circuits comprises:

two additional impedance elements, which have different values from each other and are capable of being connected in parallel to a base impedance element of the tag; and

a switching device configured to control each of the two additional impedance elements to be connected to the base impedance element.

15. The RFID tag of claim 14, wherein in response to the encoding signal being ‘

01’

or ‘

10’

, the switching device controls a first additional impedance element, among the two additional impedance elements, to be connected in parallel with the base impedance element.

16. The RFID tag of claim 15, wherein in response to the encoding signal being ‘

11’

, the switching device controls a second impedance element, among the two additional impedance elements, to be connected in parallel with the base impedance element.