Method and apparatus for facilitating a wireless transaction event via a RFID tag device with a mobile device

• US 9,633,243 B1
• Filed: 07/19/2013
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GeoToll, Inc.
• Original Assignee: GeoToll, Inc.
• Inventors: Borras, Jaime Andres, Geist, Wyatt Drake
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Laura
• Application Number:
  US13/945,990
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 705 13
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07766 comprising at least a second communication arrangement in addition to a first non-contact communication arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2240/00 Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

An RFID tag device is associated with a mobile device to facilitate wireless transactions and identification. The RFID tag device includes two RF interfaces; one can communicate with RF tag readers, and one can communicate with the mobile device. The RFID tag device can be operated in a passive mode and stores transaction information for later retrieval by the mobile device, or it can be operated in an active mode where it is powered by the mobile device through the RF interface for communicating with the mobile device so that it can be read via the RFID interface. The RFID tag device can further detect and ignore communications between the mobile device and another device using the same communications mode and used by the RFID tag device to communicate with the mobile device.

Claims

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

a first RF interface that operates at a first RF frequency and is configured to communicate with a mobile device;

a second RF interface that operates at a second RF frequency and is configured to communicate with a tollway reader;

a controller coupled to the first and second RF interfaces that transfers information between the first and second RF interfaces; and

an energy collection circuit that collects energy received via the first RF interface in a capacitor, wherein energy collected in the capacitor is used to power the second RF interface and the controller such that the second RF interface operates in an active state with the tollway reader while energy is being collected via the first RF interface, and wherein the energy from the mobile device is received prior to interacting with the tollway reader,

further comprising a proximity sensor including a directional discriminator coupled to the first RF interface that determines whether a signal received at the first RF interface is from the mobile device in a direction of the mobile device, and when the signal received at the first RF interface is not from the direction of the mobile device the proximity sensor renders the first RF interface non-responsive while the signal that is not from the direction of the mobile device is being received at the first RF interface.

2. The RFID tag device of claim 1, wherein the first RF interface operates using a near field communication (NFC) protocol.

3. The RFID tag device of claim 1, wherein the second RF interface operates according to a vehicular toll gateway protocol.

4. The RFID tag device of claim 1, further comprising a first memory coupled to the first RF interface and second memory coupled to the second RF interface, wherein the first memory stores transaction information in response to the RFID tag device being accessed via the second RF interface, wherein the transaction information indicates that the RFID tag device was read by the tollway reader via the second RF interface, and wherein the transaction information is moved from the second memory to the first memory.

5. The RFID tag device of claim 4, wherein the transaction information further includes at least one of a time of access or an identifier of the tollway reader that accessed the RFID tag device via the second RF interface.

6. The RFID tag device of claim 4, wherein the RFID tag device transmits the transaction information via the first RF interface in response to an interrogation signal received the first RF interface.

7. The RFID tag device of claim 1, further comprising an RFID memory coupled to the second interface, wherein the RFID memory stores a tag identifier, and wherein the tag identifier is transmitted via the second RF interface in response to a read signal received via the second RF interface from the tollway reader.

8. The RFID tag device of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag device is configured in a card format, the RFID tag device further comprising an adhesive element disposed on a major surface of the RFID tag device for affixing the RFID tag device to the mobile device.

9. The RFID tag device of claim 1, further comprising an indicator element for indicating a signal strength of a signal received via the first RF interface.

10. The RFID tag device of claim 1, further comprising a first memory coupled to the first RF interface, a second memory coupled to the second RF interface, wherein the controller is coupled to both the first and second memories and transfers information between the first and second RF interfaces by transferring information between the first and second memories.

11. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag device, comprising:

receiving, via a first RF interface of the RFID tag device, from a mobile device, an initialization signal that causes the RFID tag device to operate in an active state, the initialization signal having energy, wherein the first RF interface is operated at a first RF frequency;

storing at least some of the energy of the initialization signal in the RFID tag device;

receiving a read signal from a tollway reader via a second RF interface of the RFID tag device, wherein the second RF interface is operated at a second RF frequency, wherein receiving the read signal occurs while operating in the active state, and the initialization signal is received prior to interacting with the tollway reader;

responding to the read signal by transmitting, via the second RF interface and while receiving the initialization signal via the first RF interface, tag information, wherein the tag information is stored in a second memory that is coupled to the second RF interface, and wherein the transmitting utilizes some of the energy being received via the first RF interface from the initialization signal,

further comprising a proximity sensor including a directional discriminator coupled to the first RF interface that determines whether a signal received at the first RF interface is from the mobile device in a direction of the mobile device, and when the signal received at the first RF interface is not from the direction of the mobile device the proximity sensor renders the first RF interface non-responsive while the signal that is not from the direction of the mobile device is being received at the first RF interface.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising, responsive to receiving the read signal, storing, in a first memory that is coupled to the first RF interface, reader information received in the read signal.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, subsequent to receiving the read signal, receiving a query via the first RF interface, and transmitting the reader information via the first RF interface.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the initialization signal comprises receiving the initialization signal from a near field transceiver of a mobile device using a near field communication protocol.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the mobile device determining a location of the mobile device and further the mobile device determining that the mobile device is approaching a vehicular toll gateway based on the determined location of the mobile device, the mobile device transmitting the initialization signal in response to determining that the mobile device is approaching the vehicular toll gateway.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the read signal further includes receiving toll information including an identifier of a vehicular toll gateway including the tollway reader, the method further comprises storing the toll information in a first memory coupled to the first RF interface in response to receiving the read signal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein receiving the read signal further includes receiving toll information including an identifier of the vehicular toll gateway, the method further comprises, in response to receiving the toll information, transmitting the toll information via the first RF interface.