Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Zoned or cellular telephone system
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-03
2001-04-17
Nguyen, Lee (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Zoned or cellular telephone system
C455S067700, C455S226200, C340S505000, C340S870030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219543
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the detection of energy levels and field strength indications of RF transponder devices. Specifically, energy detection and field strength indication in the microwave energy range. More specifically, the invention is useful in the consumable energy automation dispensing arts.
RELATED ART
In the world of consumable energy automation, recent developments and advancements now permit customers to fill their automobiles without having to interact with an attendant or an automated device such as a credit card reader. The chief benefits include safety and simplicity. Customers no longer need to expose wallets or purses in search of a credit card, a debit card, or cash.
A customer is issued a small handheld transponder device about the size of a key-chain which is encoded with identification and account data pertinent to that particular customer. The transponder device need not be handheld but may also be mounted somewhere in the car such as the inside area of the front or rear windshield. Further, the transponder device may be active or passive depending on the level of functionality desired by a customer. Active transponders have increased memory and require a power source such as a battery contained within the device to facilitate memory storage. Passive transponders possess limited memory and require no battery. The transponders can be pre-programmed with additional information about the customer such as whether a receipt of a given transaction is desired.
FIG. 1
illustrates a prior art handheld and car mounted transponder system for purchasing fuel at a fuel dispensing device
110
without the need for direct interaction with an attendant or a point-of-sale (POS) device. When a car mounted transponder tag
112
is brought within the effective range
114
of an antenna
116
coupled to interrogation device
118
fixed within or on a fuel dispensing pump device
110
, the interrogation device
118
communicates with the customer's car mounted transponder tag
112
obtaining the requisite identification and account information regarding the transaction about to be made with that customer. The interrogation device
118
is further connected to a network computer point-of-sale (POS) device
120
for authorizing the requested transaction with a central computer
122
. The system works similarly for a handheld transponder tag
124
communicating via antenna
126
with interrogation device
118
. The chief difference between car mounted transponder tags
112
and handheld transponder tags
124
is the placement of antenna
126
and the effective range
114
of the handheld transponder tag
124
.
For such a retail consumable energy automation system to work reliably it is imperative that the electronics equipment perform at optimum levels at all times. In order to ensure such reliability, an unobtrusive test of the interrogation device is desirable to verify signals are being sent and received without any loss or corruption of data. Moreover, it is desirable to know the field strength of the aforementioned system in order to verify that the system has a sufficient effective range of operation.
The present invention is an energy detection diagnostic device for reading and evaluating several critical factors pertaining to the RF communication of signals between transponder tags and interrogation devices. Field strength and field orientation measurements are determined in order to verify optimal performance of the system. Further, the present invention performs these measurements in an unobtrusive manner that does not require the system to be shut down and mechanically accessed.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a handheld energy detection diagnostic device for detecting and measuring high frequency energy. The device comprises a pick-up or antenna mechanism coupled to electronics circuitry to receive and evaluate RF energy characteristics being emitted from an interrogation device, for instance. Based upon the level of received energy and the level of expected energy, the device presents a ratio to the operator indicating a degree of performance currently being experienced at a particular interrogation device. The device is small enough to be handheld and included with a technician's standard set of tools.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for measuring the field strength of a deployed interrogation device/antenna configuration.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device for indicating the electric field orientation of a deployed interrogation device/antenna configuration.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device that indicates to the operator a relative measurement indicating a degree of performance of a deployed interrogation device/antenna configuration with respect to field strength and electric field orientation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5239684 (1993-08-01), Ishikura
patent: 5930707 (1999-07-01), Vambaris et al.
Leatherman Russel D.
Myers Howard M.
Nguyen Lee
Withrow & Terranova , PLLC
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