Low power wireless display tag systems and methods

• US 7,090,125 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Issued: 08/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agile Displays LLC
• Original Assignee: Altierre Corp.
• Inventors: Goel, Anurag, McDonald, Mark Douglas, Saxena, Sunit, Saxena, Ashwin
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US11/019,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20050150949A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/383, 235/375, 235/384, 235/382, 340/10.2, 340/10.33
• US Class Current: 235/383
• 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 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 19/07703 the interface being visual

Abstract

A low-power system for use with Wireless Display Tags (WDTs) includes, in one or more exemplary arrangements, various power management techniques, including receiver wake-up, RF logic sharing, RF repeaters and a frequency doubling power amplifier which operates on the absolute value of the input signal.

Claims

1. A power management system for wireless display tags comprising

a host system for generating a wake up signal,

transmission means for communicating the wake up signal to a plurality of display tags,

a display tag comprising

wake-up logic for detecting the wake up signal, and

digital logic responsive to the wake-up logic for determining whether data associated with the wake up signal is intended for that display tag, and powering down at least a portion of the display tag if the data is not intended for that display tag.

2. A power management system for wireless display tags comprising

a plurality of wireless display tags which transmits a near-field signal in accordance with a first protocol,

a central receiving station which communicates in accordance with a second protocol, and

at least one RF repeater, the RF repeater adapted to receive signals in accordance with the first protocol and to transmit signals in accordance with the second protocol.

3. A shelf-area network comprising

a plurality of displays configured to fit within a C-channel in a shelf display,

a singe RE receiver adapted to receive transmissions from a host, the transmissions from the host comprising data for the displays, and

digital logic responsive to the single RF receiver for controlling the plurality of displays in accordance with the data from the host.

4. The shelf-area network of claim 3 further comprising a housing for enclosing the plurality of displays.

5. The shelf-area network of claim 3 further comprising a plurality of housings, each housing enclosing a display, and each display further comprising control logic responsive to the digital logo for displaying the data on the display.

6. The shelf-area network of claim 5 wherein the digital logic communicates with the control logic of each display by wireless techniques.

7. The shelf-area network of claim 5 wherein to digital logic communicates with the control logic of each display by optical techniques.

8. The shelf-area network of claim 5 wherein the digital logic communicates with the control logic of each display by a wired connection.

9. A wireless display tag comprising

a receiver,

digital logic responsive to the receiver, and

a nonlinear power amplifier responsive to the digital logic for transmitting signals, the power amplifier comprising absolute value circuitry for taking the absolute value of the signal from the digital logic and frequency doubling circuitry for restoring the input waveform pulses at the output of the power amplifier.