Multi-protocol or multi-command RFID system
First Claim
1. An interrogation system capable of communicating with transponders having different communication protocols, the interrogation system comprising;
- a plurality of interrogators, each interrogator having a transmitter for transmitting downlink signals in accordance with different communication protocols over a downlink communications link to the transponders, and a receiver for receiving an uplink signal over an uplink communications signal link from the transponders, and a synchronization signal for synchronizing the downlink signals for each of the plurality of interrogators.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-protocol RFID interrogating system employs a synchronization technique (step-lock) for a backscatter RFID system that allows simultaneous operation of closely spaced interrogators. The multi-protocol RFID interrogating system can communicate with backscatter transponders having different output protocols and with active transponders including: Title 21 compliant RFID backscatter transponders; IT2000 RFID backscatter transponders that provide an extended mode capability beyond Title 21; EGO™ RFID backscatter transponders, SEGO™ RFID backscatter transponders; ATA, ISO, ANSI AAR compliant RFID backscatter transponders; and IAG compliant active technology transponders. The system implements a step-lock operation, whereby adjacent interrogators are synchronized to ensure that all downlinks operate within the same time frame and all uplinks operate within the same time frame, to eliminate downlink on uplink interference.
141 Citations
42 Claims
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1. An interrogation system capable of communicating with transponders having different communication protocols, the interrogation system comprising;
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a plurality of interrogators, each interrogator having a transmitter for transmitting downlink signals in accordance with different communication protocols over a downlink communications link to the transponders, and a receiver for receiving an uplink signal over an uplink communications signal link from the transponders, and a synchronization signal for synchronizing the downlink signals for each of the plurality of interrogators. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An interrogation system capable of communicating with backscatter transponders using a communication protocol having different commands, the interrogation system comprising;
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a plurality of interrogators, each interrogator having a transmitter for transmitting downlink signals in accordance with different commands over a downlink communications link to the transponders, and a receiver for receiving an uplink signal over an uplink communications signal link from the transponders, and a synchronization signal for synchronizing the downlink signals for each of the plurality of interrogators. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An interrogator capable of communicating with a first set of transponders and a second set of transponders, the first and second set of transponders having different power, depth of modulation, or duty cycles, the interrogator comprising:
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a transmitter for transmitting a first downlink signal to the first set of transponders and a second downlink signal to the second set of transponders;
a receiver for receiving a first uplink signal from the first set of transponders and a second uplink signal from the second set of transponders; and
,a controller for controlling said transmitter to transmit the first and second downlink signals based on the power, depth of modulation, or duty cycle of the respective first and second sets of transponders, and for controlling said receiver to receive the first and second uplink signals based on the power, depth of modulation, or duty cycle of the respective first and second sets of transponders. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An interrogator having transmitter components for processing a transmit signal along a transmitter path, and receiver components for processing a received signal along a receiver path, said interrogator comprising:
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an encoder generating a test signal having bits and transmitting the test signal through each of the transmitter components along the transmitter path and through each of the receiver components along the receiver path;
a decoder for receiving the test signal from a last component in one of the transmitter path or receiver path; and
,a processor comparing the test signal generated by said encoder with the test signal received by said decoder, and determining that the transmitter and receiver components are operating properly if the test signal generated by said encoder matches the test signal received by said decoder. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. An interrogator having receiver components for processing a received signal along a receiver path, said interrogator comprising:
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an encoder generating a test signal having bits;
a test tag receiving the test signal from said encoder and transmitting a test signal to said interrogator for processing by the receiver components;
a decoder for receiving the test signal from a last component in the receiver path; and
,a processor comparing the test signal generated by said encoder with the test signal received by said decoder, and determining that the receiver components are operating properly if the test signal generated by said encoder matches the test signal received by said decoder. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42)
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Specification