Object identification system and method

• US 9,927,477 B1
• Filed: 09/09/2015
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quantum Wave LLC (Mad Energy)
• Original Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Lilly, James D., Corum, Kenneth L., Corum, James F., Pinzone, Joseph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Dionne H
• Application Number:
  US14/849,193
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/0878 Sensors; antennas; probes; detectors wave guide measuring sections G01R1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/75 using transponders powered from received waves, e.g. using passive transponders , or using passive reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10158 methods and means used by the interrogation device for reliably powering the wireless record carriers using an electromagnetic interrogation field
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10376 the interrogation device being adapted for being moveable
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2405 characterised by the tag technology used
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/00 Waveguides; Transmission lines of the waveguide type

Abstract

An object identification system includes a guided surface waveguide probe that produces a guided surface wave that has a frequency-dependent illumination area in which one or more object identification tags are powered by the guided surface wave and outside of which other object identification tags are not powered by the guided surface wave; and a receiver at the illumination area, the receiver receiving return signals from the one or more object identification tags located in the illumination area, the return signals emitted by the object identification tags as an automated response to being powered by the guided surface wave.

Claims

1. An object identification system, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe that produces an electromagnetic guided surface wave along a terrestrial medium, the electromagnetic guided surface wave has a frequency-dependent illumination area in which one or more object identification tags are powered by the guided surface wave and outside of which other object identification tags are not powered by the electromagnetic guided surface wave; and

a receiver at the illumination area, the receiver receiving return signals from the one or more object identification tags located in the illumination area, the return signals emitted by the object identification tags as an automated response to being powered by the electromagnetic guided surface wave; and

wherein the guided surface waveguide probe comprises a charge terminal elevated over the terrestrial medium and produces the electromagnetic guided surface wave by generating at least one resultant field that synthesizes a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_(i,B)) of the terrestrial medium.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a shape of the illumination area is controlled by producing the electromagnetic guided surface wave to vary as a function of direction.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the guided surface waveguide probe is a first probe, the electromagnetic guided surface wave is a first electromagnetic guided surface wave and the illumination area is a first illumination area, a size of the first illumination area is controlled to be non-overlapping with an adjacent second illumination area that is defined by a second electromagnetic guided surface wave produced by a second guided surface waveguide probe.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first and second electromagnetic guided surface waves are of the same nominal frequency.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the first and second electromagnetic guided surface waves have different nominal frequencies.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the illumination areas respectively correspond to a first site and a second site that each have a respective known geographic area and a single entity that coordinates or controls movement of objects that are associated with the object identification tags within the site.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the illumination area corresponds to a site that has a known geographic area and a single entity that coordinates or controls movement of objects that are associated with the object identification tags within the site.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a computer system, the computer system configured to manage an inventory of objects for a site, each object associated with one of the tags and the inventory managed according to tag identifiers in return signals that are respectively received from the tags.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a computer system, the computer system configured to identify locations of objects, each object associated with one or the tags and the locations determined according to return signals respectively received from the tags.

10. A method of identifying objects, comprising:

producing an electromagnetic guided surface wave along a terrestrial medium with a guided surface waveguide probe, the electromagnetic guided surface wave has a frequency-dependent illumination area in which one or more object identification tags are powered by the electromagnetic guided surface wave and outside of which other object identification tags are not powered by the electromagnetic guided surface wave; and

receiving return signals from the one or more object identification tags located in the illumination area with a receiver located at the illumination area, the return signals emitted by the object identification tags as an automated response to being powered by the electromagnetic guided surface wave; and

wherein the guided surface waveguide probe comprises a charge terminal elevated over the terrestrial medium and produces the electromagnetic guided surface wave by generating at least one resultant field that synthesizes a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_(i,B)) of the terrestrial medium.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a shape of the illumination area is controlled by producing the electromagnetic guided surface wave to vary as a function of direction.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the guided surface waveguide probe is a first probe, the electromagnetic guided surface wave is a first electromagnetic guided surface wave and the illumination area is a first illumination area, a size of the first illumination area is controlled to be non-overlapping with an adjacent second illumination area that is defined by a second electromagnetic guided surface wave produced by a second guided surface waveguide probe.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second electromagnetic guided surface waves are of the same nominal frequency.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second electromagnetic guided surface waves have different nominal frequencies.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the illumination areas respectively corresponding to a first site and a second site that each have a respective known geographic area and a single entity that coordinates or controls movement of objects that are associated with the object identification tags within the site.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the illumination area corresponds to a site that has a known geographic area and a single entity that coordinates or controls movement of objects that are associated with the object identification tags within the site.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising managing an inventory of objects for a site with a computer system, each object associated with one of the tags and the inventory managed according to tag identifiers in return signals that are received from the tags.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising identifying locations of objects with a computer system, each object associated with one of the tags and the locations determined according to return signals received from the tags.