Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Inventory
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-15
2003-04-29
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Inventory
C235S375000, C340S572100, C340S572200, C340S572300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06554188
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to provision of active labels comprising implantable or attachable identification means on items or commodities; to remote, non-contact and/or non-optical reading of and writing to the identification means itself and in particular to a terminal for interrogating transponders of an active radio-frequency identification systems for items.
BACKGROUND ART
In many processes and systems, a group of distinct items will require to be separately identified. Examples of groups of items include the shopping in a supermarket trolley, luggage at an airport, files in an office, or animals on a farm, the initial application of this invention. Existing means for identification include simple recognition, written or printed labels, colour coding, bar coding, and the like.
There is an increasing need to provide an account of the history of an item, such as a food animal, from birth right through to the point of retail sale in order to satisfy requirements such as those relating to welfare considerations, or health concerns such as antibiotic residues. One way to provide the last might be by recording all the significant events, such as vaccinations or veterinary treatments, that have happened to that, animal through its lifetime. Furthermore, herd improvement strategies can be based on detailed freezing-works reports correlated with sire identification. While these events could be recorded externally such as on a paper record, there are a number of administrative advantages in having the individual record actually carried with the item in question. (For example the immediate problem to be solved might be to ascertain the previously recorded weight of a heifer, when in a cattleyard miles from the nearest telephone and computer). In the case of an animal, this could be in the form of a plastic tag such as an eartag having a number of positions capable of being clipped (like a bus ticket) whenever something is to be recorded, but it is clear that disadvantages of this would include (a) the limited number of separate records, and (b) the propensity of eartags to be lost.
The use of a central database relating prior-art “electronic eartags” which are simply provided with a unique, electronically readable number at the time of manufacture and lack an ability to receive and hold information during their life has been proposed. The management of such records provides an administrative problem, given that events impinging on an animal from time to time, or at any time, would have to be transferred accurately into a central database. In contrast, being able to characterise a farm animal immediately and unambiguously would be advantageous. It would be useful if any proposed labelling system could work in the absence of a computer.
In order to assist in the storage of reliable information, it would seem desirable to limit access by various would-be users as far as possible, so that for example a veterinarian could read and write memory elements (fields in a record) relating to health status and medical/treatment matters, a stock agent could read only ownership and health status matters. An owner might have wider powers although his staff might only be permitted to read from specific fields. Furthermore, physically (as opposed to by-machine) reading the record as carried on the item (animal suitcase, package or the like) may require undue mental and physical agility. Thus the problem to be solved might be described as “the need to provide a verifiable, immediately readable, rewritable data storage device capable of being placed relatively permanently on a moveable object. Furthermore, an ability to control who can read or write to any specific record seems to be desirable”.
Previous attempts to solve the problem in general (meaning the use of RF-ID tags on animals) include a number of industry-initiated electronic ear tag ventures involving Philips, Motorola, Texas Instruments, and others. None have been notably successful apart from the passive microchips widely used on pet animals.
Patent documents which relate closely to the present invention include:
U.S. Pat. No 5,499,626 to Willham et al (filed June 1994) describes an implantable programmable electronic data tag, and a scheme for using an individual mammal as its own mobile record capable of receiving changeable information. The document is useful for providing a guide for a livestock record system. A central database is assumed for breed performance averaging (bioeconomic values); details of which are described. The data tag is assumed to be battery-driven.
Avid Corp: U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,409 inventor Beigel M, Avid Corp: U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,001 Beigel M, and Avid Corp: U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,017 Beigel M all relate to a terminal, and an RFID tag having 3 kinds of memory in the tag namely R/O (ROM), R/W (EEPROM), and temporary (RAM) memories (the last for use with tag sensors). A single level of security is provided for.
Magtronic: U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,415 inventor Linseth describes an RFID tag for the first (rumen) and second (reticulum) stomachs of cattle, combined with a heavy magnet also useful for the minimisation of “hardware disease” and a plurality of read or write memories.
Venda Corporation (WO97/22092) and other specifications commencing with Watanabe (U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,136) describe a physical device providing a form of security for confidential data upon a smart card or the like, in which simultaneous access of the smart card together with a second smart card containing enabling information such as a password is required. Hardware capable of reading two smart cards at the same time is used.
DEFINITIONS
“Active” relates to the ability of information carried within an identification means—as will be described herein—to be altered from time to time (implying a rewritable memory capability), or, it relates to the capability of the identification means to respond to an interrogation with a selected stream of information. (A passive tag is one carrying unalterable information only: whether directly viewable or in electronically readable form).
“Animal” includes living items having an intrinsic importance; including mammals (not excluding humans), birds, reptiles, and fish, and includes plants, trees, or portions thereof.
“Terminal” refers to a device capable of supplying wireless energy to a transponder, and capable of reading data from, or writing data to, a transponder so powered.
“Transponder” refers to a device which responds to an interrogation by returning information, such as identification. In the instances generally under consideration, it also refers to RFD transponders powered by collection and conversion of at least some of the energy within the interrogation signal.
“RF-ID” refers to radio-frequency powered identification label units, functioning as transponders.
OBJECT
It is an object of this invention to provide improvements in apparatus and methods for a radio-frequency identification tagging system, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
In a first broad aspect, the invention provides a terminal for an active labelling system employing wireless-powered identification tags, including: data processing means, program control means, data storage means and optionally a display and user control means; the terminal having wireless communication means capable of reading from and of writing to a wireless-powered identification tag; the tag including tag data storage means capable of storing more than one field of data within a record, wherein the terminal is capable of acquiring data comprising a code sequence from an unprotected area of data storage within a first or “key” type of wireless-powered identification tag, and if at least a part of the code sequence is recognised by the terminal as belonging to a set of predetermined security key sequences, of then adopting a security rank selected in accordance with the key sequence from a range of predetermined security ranks; the adopted security rank empowering the terminal to become capable of effective acces
Greenman Murray
Irving Gordon Douglas
Johnson Colin Francis
Sommerville Christopher Lee
St George Owen Richard
Electronic Data Holdings Limited
Frech Karl D.
Hess Daniel A.
Young & Thompson
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