Radio frequency identification systems and methods for waking up data storage devices for wireless communication

• US 6,525,648 B1
• Filed: 10/06/1999
• Issued: 02/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Grabon, Robert James, Kubler, Joseph Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): TONG, NINA C
• Application Number:
  US09/413,286
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.33, 340/10.1, 340/10.34, 340/10.5, 340/10.6, 340/10.52, 340/10.51, 340/572.1
• US Class Current: 340/10.33
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0701 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising an arrangement for power management
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0715 the arrangement including means to regulate power transfer to the integrated circuit
• 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

Abstract

A remote system includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag specifically identified by an RF identification signal. The specific RFID tag is associated with a particular remote data transfer device. When identified, the specific RFID tag changes the state of the associated remote data transfer device from a zero power state to an operational state. Limited power-capacity of a remote power supply is used solely for data transfer between the data transfer device and an administrator. Although many RFID signals may be transmitted over time to the location of many remote systems, each of which has an RFID tag, an RFID signal is only infrequently sent to a specific one of the RFID tags. Such an RFID signal is transmitted only to request a data transfer operation with the particular remote data transfer device that is associated with that specific RFID tag. At the end of the data transfer state of that particular remote data transfer device, the state of that data storage device is returned to the zero power state. Each RFID tag may be a passive beam-powered tag. The zero power state, the specificity and periodicity of the RFID signal, the return to the zero power state, and the use of the specific selected passive beam powered RFID tag, combine so that the zero power state is the primary state from a temporal standpoint and for substantial periods of time no power is drawn from the limited power-capacity of the remote power supply. The data storage device may be provided in many different electronic units, all of which may involve data transfer.

Claims

1. A system for remotely causing operation of a particular unit of electronic circuitry among a plurality of electronic circuitry, comprising:

a plurality of units of the electronic circuitry, each of the units of electronic circuitry having first and second states, each of the units of electronic circuitry being powered by a limited capacity power supply, a first of the states using zero power from the power supply, a second of the states being an operational power-on state using power from the power supply;

a base station for sending a wake-up signal only at a specific time at which it is desired to change the state of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry from the first state to the second state, wherein the particular unit of the electronic circuitry is caused to be operational upon the change of state at the specific time; and

a separate radio frequency identification tag electrically connected to each of the units of the electronic circuitry, only a specific one of the tags being responsive to the wake-up signal to cause the state of the respective connected particular unit of the electronic circuitry to change between the first state and the second state;

each unit of the electronic circuitry comprising a wireless local area network and a data storage device, upon operation of the particular unit the respective wireless local area network being effective to provide data communication with the respective data storage device independently of the wake-up signal from the base station.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the base station sending successive ones of the wake-up signals only at separate specific times at which it is desired to change the state of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry from the first state to the second state, the duration of the second operational state of the particular unit of electronic circuitry being short relative to the time between successive wake-up signals for the particular unit of electronic circuitry, and

wherein the particular unit of electronic circuitry returns to the first state at the end of the duration of the second state.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the radio frequency identification tags has a first data storage capacity, and wherein each data storage device of each unit of electronic circuitry has a second data storage capacity substantially exceeding the first data storage capacity of the respective connected radio frequency tag.

4. A system as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

each of the units of electronic circuitry being a cellular telephone; and

the respective radio frequency tag being mounted on the cellular telephone, the respective radio frequency tag being passive and operating using the power of the wake-up signal from the base station.

5. A system as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

each of the units of electronic circuitry being a sensor for detecting conditions of the human body; and

the respective radio frequency tag being mounted on the sensor, the respective radio frequency tag being passive and operating using the power of the signal of the base station.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

each particular unit of the electronic circuitry and each respective radio frequency tag being mounted on a respective mobile carrier that moves remotely from the base station; and

each respective radio frequency identification tag being passive and beam powered so that the state of the respective connected particular unit of electronic circuitry is changed between the first state and the second state only using the power of the wake-up signal from the base station.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

at least one unit of the electronic circuitry being the particular unit and including at least one computer at a location remote from the base station;

a system administrator periodically having updates for the at least one computer of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry;

the base station sending the wake-up signal each time there is an update for the at least one computer of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry; and

the wireless local area network communicating each update from the system administrator to the at least one computer of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry during the second state.

8. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein each unit of a group of the units includes a computer at the remote location;

the system further comprising;

the system administrator periodically having an update for each of the computers of the group of units;

the wake-up signal sent by the base station being for all of the computers in the group of the units; and

the separate radio frequency tag including a radio frequency tag for each of the computers of the group of units, each radio frequency tag for each of the computers of the group of computers being responsive to the wake-up signal sent by the base station to change the state of the respective computer to the second state; and

during the second state each computer of the group of units receiving the update via the respective wireless local area network.

9. A method of periodically providing data to or from a remote area, the method comprising the operations of:

providing a plurality of data storage units in the remote area, each of the data storage units normally being in an off state and having an on state for operation;

transmitting separate radio frequency identification signals to the remote area at separate specific times, the signals including at least one signal to identify a selected one of the data storage units;

in response to the at least one signal, identifying the selected one of the data storage units;

causing the selected one of the data storage units to be in the on state; and

using a wireless local area network connected to the selected data storage unit to communicate data to and from the selected data storage unit to provide the data to or from the remote area at which the selected data storage unit is located only when the selected data storage unit is in the on state.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

the providing operation is configured to provide each of the data storage units with a relatively high data storage capacity;

the identifying operation using a radio frequency identification tag having a data storage capacity that is small relative to the high data storage capacity to select the one of the data storage units; and

the using operation being independent of the transmitting and identifying operations so that the relatively high amount of data of the high data capacity is communicated to or from the remote area independently of the transmitting of the separate radio frequency identification signals to the remote area.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

supplying power for each using operation from a separate source, each separate source having a limited power storage capacity; and

providing power for the identifying and causing operations solely from the separate radio frequency signals independently of the separate power source.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

returning the selected data storage unit to the off state after the communication of the data to and from the selected data storage unit so that use of the limited power storage capacity source is minimized.

13. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein:

the operation of providing the data storage units further comprises providing in the remote area disk drive having the high data storage capacities, wherein each disk drive is powered by a source; and

the operation of identifying the selected one of the data storage units in response to the at least one signal comprising the operations of;

providing a radio frequency identification tag on each disk drive, a respective one of the tags being responsive to the one transmitted signal; and

identifying the disk drive associated with the respective tag as the selected data storage unit.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, further comprising:

the operation of using the wireless network including communicating data from the disk drive corresponding to the selected data storage unit only when the selected data storage unit is in the on state.

15. A service provider unit for use at a location remote from a station that requests service from the service provider in the form of data-type data transfer service, the station requesting the service by transmitting to the remote location periodic radio frequency identification signals unique to the service provider unit, the service provider unit comprising:

a radio frequency identification tag for generating a wake-up signal only in response to each of the unique signals;

a remote service provider having a data storage unit and a wireless local area network, the provider being associated with the radio frequency identification tag, the provider having an off state when no power is provided to it and having an operational state when power is supplied to it, in the operational state the data storage unit being accessible for data-type data transfer via the wireless local area network; and

a power source providing a low total amount of power capacity, the source being connected to the remote service provider and turned on by the wake-up signal from the radio frequency identification tag, the power source being capable of providing power during a first duration for first amounts of frequent polling-type data transfer and being capable of providing power during a second duration for second amounts of infrequently requested data-type data transfer, the power source being capable of providing power during a third duration for none of the polling-type data transfer and to supply power for third amounts of infrequently requested-data-type data transfers, the third duration being substantially more than the second duration;

the response of the radio frequency identification tag to only the unique signals for generating the wake-up signals being effective to cause the power source to operate only for the third duration and rendering it unnecessary to supply power for the first amounts of frequent polling-type data transfer.

16. A service provider unit as recited in claim 15, wherein the power source turns off upon completion of the data-type data transfer via the wireless local area network.

17. A service provider as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

the radio frequency tag having a first data storage capacity for identifying the unique signals; and

the data storage unit of the remote service provider having a second data storage capacity that is substantially greater than the first data storage capacity.

18. A service provider as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

the radio frequency identification tag operating at a first frequency;

the wireless local area network operating at the first frequency; and

an antenna connected to both the radio frequency identification tag and to the wireless local area network.

19. A service provider unit as recited in claim 18, wherein:

the wake-up signal is a ringer pulse; and

the wireless local area network has a normally-off state and an operating state, in response to the ringer pulse the wireless local area network entering the operating state and performing the data-type data transfer.

20. A system for transferring data from time to time to or from a remote location, comprising:

a data transfer unit having first and second states, the unit being powered by a source having a limited power capacity, a primary one of the states being a state using zero power from the source, an operational one of the states being a power-on state using power from the source, the data transfer unit comprising a data storage device having a first data storage capacity and a wireless local area network for communicating data from or to the data storage device respectively to or from the remote location;

a radio frequency identification tag provided with a second data storage device having a second data storage capacity substantially less than the first data storage capacity, the tag being electrically connected to the data transfer unit, the tag being responsive to a radio frequency identification signal that specifically selects the data transfer unit and causing the state of the data transfer unit to change between the primary state and the operational state; and

a base station located remotely from the data transfer unit and from the radio frequency identification tag for sending the radio frequency identification signal that specifically selects the unit, the signal being sent only at a specific time at which it is desired to change the state of the data transfer unit from the primary state to the operational state, wherein the data transfer unit becomes operational upon the change of state at the specific time so that the wireless local area network communicates data from or to the data storage device respectively to or from the remote location.

21. A system as recited in claim 20, wherein the radio frequency identification tag is a passive tag powered only by the radio frequency identification signal.

22. A system as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

the wireless local area network being provided with a first antenna for receiving data communication signals at a first frequency;

the frequency of the signal selecting the unit being different from the first frequency; and

a second antenna for receiving the signal selecting the unit.