Patent ID: 11960955
Assignee: IMPINJ, INC.
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A method for a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) reader that transmits commands to an RFID tag using amplitude modulation (AM) of a radio frequency (RF) waveform to avoid powering-down the RFID tag when changing a frequency of the RF waveform, the method comprising:
transmitting the RF waveform at a first frequency with a command modulated onto the RF waveform;
modulating the RF waveform with a low-amplitude AM pulse;
switching the frequency of the RF waveform to a second frequency different from the first frequency during the low-amplitude pulse; and
at the end of the low-amplitude pulse, transmitting the RF waveform at the second frequency, wherein an average power of the entire modulated RF waveform is sufficient for the tag to receive the command.