RFID tag communication triggered by sensed energy

• US 9,953,192 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2016
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Zimmerman, Timothy M., Ungs, Kelly
• Primary Examiner(s): Barakat, Mohamed
• Application Number:
  US15/092,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20160217306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0707 the arrangement being capable of collecting energy from external energy sources, e.g. thermocouples, vibration, electromagnetic radiation G06K19/0702 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0712 the arrangement being capable of triggering distinct operating modes or functions dependent on the strength of an energy or interrogation field in the proximity of the record carrier active means for hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07336
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0717 the sensor being capable of sensing environmental conditions such as temperature history or pressure
• 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 19/07749 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 19/07766 comprising at least a second communication arrangement in addition to a first non-contact communication arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07773 Antenna details antennas for wireless devices, e.g. RFID tags, in general H01Q1/22
• 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 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10435 the interrogation device being positioned close to a conveyor belt or the like on which moving record carriers are passing conveying in accordance with bodily destination marks, see B65G47/46, sorting of objects carrying identity markings, see B07C5/34
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/47 using RFID associated with sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/75 by polling or interrogating the sub-stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/823 where the data is sent when the measured values exceed a threshold, e.g. sending an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

An RFID tag is equipped with an energy sensor for receiving an appropriate energy signal or registering an appropriate temperature/environmental level. The RFID tag only responds to a query from an RFID reader if the sensor receives the appropriate stimulation.

Claims

1. A RFID reader comprising:

a sensor to monitor an ambient temperature;

a transmitter configured to transmit an interrogation signal only when the ambient temperature corresponds to a predefined threshold condition; and

wherein the RFID tag only sends a response to the interrogation signal when a temperature level detected by a temperature sensor at the RFID tag corresponds to the predefined threshold condition.

2. The RFID reader of claim 1, wherein the RFID reader only sends the interrogation signal when an environment comprising one of the RFID reader and the RFID tag has an ambient temperature level below the predefined threshold condition.

3. The RFID reader of claim 1, wherein the RFID reader further comprising:

a processor configured to transmit data to write to a memory in the RFID tag.

4. The RFID reader of claim 1, wherein a source external to the RFID reader is configured to change the ambient temperature level.

5. The RFID reader of claim 4, wherein the RFID reader prompts the source to change the ambient temperature level.

6. The RFID tag of claim 5, wherein the source is selected from a group consisting of:

a thermal generator, infrared generator, or an electromagnetic energy generator.

7. The RFID reader of claim 6, wherein the RFID tag does not respond at all to a RF query of the RFID reader while the RFID tag is within an environment having the temperature level outside of a predetermined temperature range.

8. The RFID reader of claim 7, wherein the RFID tag is programmed to unlock access to stored data only for a limited period of time so that during this limited period of time, the RFID tag will respond to the RF query while the RFID tag is within the environment having the temperature level within the predetermined temperature range.

9. The RFID reader of claim 7, wherein the RFID tag is configured to be set into a non-secure mode which enables to RFID tag to respond to the RF query regardless of whether the RFID tag is within the environment having the temperature level within the predetermined temperature range.

10. The RFID reader of claim 9, wherein the RFID tag is configured to change the non-secure mode to secure mode to enable to RFID tag to respond to the RF query only when the RFID tag is within the environment having the temperature level within the predetermined temperature range.

11. The RFID reader of claim 7, wherein the RFID tag is configured to be set into a secure mode which enables to RFID tag to respond to the RF query only when RFID tag is within the environment having the temperature level within the predetermined temperature range.

12. The RFID reader of claim 6, wherein the predefined threshold condition is a condition where the temperature falls below a predetermined threshold temperature.

13. A system comprising:

a RFID reader comprising;

a sensor to monitor an ambient temperature; and

a transmitter configured to transmit an interrogation signal only when the ambient temperature corresponds to a predefined threshold condition,

a RFID tag comprising;

an antenna configured to receive the interrogation signal from the RFID reader;

a memory for storing tag data;

a temperature sensor to detect a temperature level at the RFID tag and determine if the temperature level detected by the temperature sensor corresponds to the predefined threshold condition;

circuitry coupled to the RFID reader that is configured to one of read data from the memory of the RFID tag and transmit data to write to the memory of the RFID tag only if the ambient temperature corresponds to the predefined threshold condition.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the antenna is further configured to receive data from the RFID reader, and wherein the circuitry is further configured to write the data to the memory only in response to the temperature level detected by the temperature sensor being determined to be at the predefined threshold condition.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the circuitry transmits a response via the antenna or allow writing to the memory only during a time window after determining that the temperature level detected by the temperature sensor is at the predefined threshold.

16. A system comprising:

a RFID reader comprising;

a sensor to monitor an ambient temperature; and

a transmitter configured to transmit an interrogation signal only when the ambient temperature corresponds to a predefined threshold condition,

a RFID tag comprising;

an antenna configured to receive an RF signal from the RFID reader; and

a circuitry in communication with the antenna and configured to;

toggle the RFID tag to operate between a first mode and a second mode upon receiving a mode-switching signal, wherein the mode-switching signal comprises an encoded RF signal having one of a first RF code corresponding to the first mode or a second RF code corresponding to the second mode;

operate in the first mode when receiving the mode-switching signal containing the first RF code, wherein in the first mode, the circuitry processes the RF signal from the RFID reader and transmits a first response via the antenna prior to experiencing a predetermined condition;

operate in the second mode when receiving the mode-switching signal containing the second RF code such that the RFID tag only responds to an RFID reader interrogation signal in the second mode after the first response to the first mode, wherein in the second mode, the circuitry processes the RF signal and transmits a second response via the antenna only after experiencing the predetermined condition.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the RFID tag further comprising a sensor configured to receive an energy signal, wherein the energy signal is selected from a group consisting of:

laser light, infrared light, one or more wavelengths of electromagnetic energy, sound energy, ultrasound energy, movement, and biometric input, and further wherein the appropriate signal is a first pre-determined energy signal, and the mode-switching signal is a second pre-determined energy signal.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the predefined threshold condition is a condition where the ambient temperature falls below a predetermined threshold temperature.

19. A method comprising:

monitoring a change in an ambient temperature existing in an environment;

comparing the ambient temperature against a predefined threshold condition, wherein when the ambient temperature corresponds to the predefined threshold condition,

transmitting an interrogation signal from an RFID reader to an RFID tag, and

receiving a response to the interrogation signal, from the RFID tag, when a temperature level detected by a temperature sensor at the RFID tag corresponds to the predefined threshold condition.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the transmitting of the interrogation signal from the RFID reader after monitoring the change in ambient temperature is independent of the RFID tag corresponding to the predefined threshold condition.