RFID Device Using Single Antenna For Multiple Resonant Frequency Ranges

• US 20090289771A1
• Filed: 05/20/2008
• Published: 11/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Keystone Technology Solutions, LLC
• Inventors: Tuttle, John R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,712,334 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.300
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10227 loading programming parameters or programs into the interrogator, e.g. for configuring the interrogator
• 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 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles
• 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 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 device utilizing a single antenna for multiple resonant frequency ranges. RFID device that can include an RFID circuit, and a single antenna coupled to the RFID circuit. The antenna can be configured to operate within multiple frequency ranges for communicating with at least one RFID interrogator according to respective protocols associated with each respective frequency range.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system comprising:

an RFID interrogator having an interrogator antenna configured to operate within multiple frequency ranges; and

an RFID device having an RFID circuit and a device antenna coupled to the RFID circuit, the device antenna configured to operate within multiple frequency ranges matching at least those of the interrogator antenna, to communicate with the RFID interrogator according to respective protocols associated with each respective frequency range.

2. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the RFID interrogator includes multiple interrogator antennas, each tuned to a different frequency range.

3. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the RFID interrogator antenna is a multiband resonant antenna.

4. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the RFID device antenna is a multiband resonant antenna.

5. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the RFID interrogator is configured to transmit power on at least one frequency range through the interrogator antenna to the device antenna.

6. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the frequency ranges carries communications according to the respective protocol associated only with the particular frequency range.

7. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the RFID interrogator and RFID device communicate over each frequency range according to a protocol associated with the frequency range.

8. The RFID system as set forth in claim 7 wherein the RFID interrogator and RFID device communicate over each frequency range simultaneously.

9. The RFID system as set forth in claim 7 wherein the RFID interrogator and RFID device communicate over each frequency range serially.

10. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of the frequency ranges is used for communications according to the protocol corresponding to the frequency range and at least one other frequency range is used to provide power to the RFID device.

11. The RFID system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the frequency range used to provide power to the RFID device is the lowest frequency range.

12. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein each frequency range is selected to be a non-harmonic, non-integer multiple or non-integer-fraction frequency of the other frequency ranges.

13. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the interrogator antenna and device antenna are any one of dipole antennas, log periodic dipole array antennas, triband yagi antennas, quarter wave dipole antennas, monopole antennas, or whip antennas.

14. The RFID system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising additional RFID interrogators having interrogator antennas tuned to different frequency ranges to permit the RFID interrogators to communicate with the RFID device at the different frequency ranges according to respective protocols associated with each frequency range.

15. A radio frequency identification (RFID) device comprising:

an RFID circuit; and

an antenna coupled to the RFID circuit, the antenna configured to operate within multiple frequency ranges for communicating with at least one RFID interrogator according to respective protocols associated with each respective frequency range.

16. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the antenna is a multiband resonant antenna.

17. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the antenna is configured as a single antenna structure that is resonant on multiple frequencies.

18. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the antenna includes at least one filter for configuring the antenna to resonate within a particular frequency range.

19. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the antenna is any one of a dipole antenna, log periodic dipole array antenna, triband yagi antenna, quarter wave dipole antenna, monopole antenna, or whip antenna.

20. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the antenna receives at least one power transmission from the RFID interrogator.

21. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein each of the frequency ranges carries communications according to the respective protocol associated only with the particular frequency range.

22. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the device communicates with the RFID interrogator over each frequency range simultaneously.

23. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein the device communicates with the RFID interrogator over each frequency range serially.

24. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein at least one of the frequency ranges is used for communications according to the protocol corresponding to the frequency range and at least one other frequency range is used to simultaneously receive power from the RFID interrogator.

25. The RFID device as set forth in claim 24, wherein the frequency range used to receive power from the RFID interrogator is the lowest frequency range.

26. The RFID device as set forth in claim 15, wherein each frequency range is selected to be a non-harmonic, non-integer multiple or non-integer fraction frequency of the other frequency ranges.

27. A method comprising:

receiving radio frequency (RF) signals having different frequency ranges on an antenna coupled to a radio frequency identification (RFID) device and tuned to the different frequency ranges;

selecting protocols, each protocol associated with only one of the frequency ranges of the received signals; and

processing the received signals according to the protocols associated with the frequency ranges.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising filtering the received RF signals within particular frequency ranges.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising powering the RFID device with at least one of the received RF signals.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising transmitting data from the RFID device through the antenna to at least one RFID interrogator.