Patent ID: 9690957
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: G06K,G06Q

Claim:
1. An RFID system configured to manipulate RFID tags, comprising: an RFID receiver system configured to read RFID tag information from activated RFID tags within a receive coverage area; and a plurality of exciters defining a plurality of interrogation spaces within the receive coverage area of the RFID receiver system, where at least one of the plurality of exciters is able to activate an RFID tag within the plurality of interrogation spaces and the plurality of interrogation spaces are contained within the receive coverage area of the RFID receiver system; wherein one of the plurality of exciters is a wired exciter with which the RFID receiver system communicates via a wired connection, where the wired exciter comprises: wherein the RFID receiver system is configured to transmit a control signal to one of the plurality of exciters and includes an RFID tag interrogation signal; wherein the wired exciter is configured to receive the control signal; wherein the wired exciter is configured to couple the control signal into the RF chain to amplify the RFID tag interrogation signal received via the control signal and illuminate an interrogation space with the amplified RFID tag interrogation signal using the transmit antenna and thereby activate an RFID tag within the interrogation space; wherein the wired exciter is configured to return exciter status information to the RFID receiver system by generating a waveform that emulates an illuminated RFID tag when the control signal includes a message to control the reporting of exciter status information; and wherein the RFID receiver system is configured to read RFID tag information from an RFID tag activated by an RFID tag interrogation signal generated by one of the plurality of exciters.