Abstract:
A method and apparatus identifying an item by attaching a radio frequency identification device to the item; obtaining encryption information; generating an encrypted code from the encryption information by a programmer; inserting the encrypted code into the radio frequency identification device by the programmer whereas the encrypted code may be one of a plurality of encrypted codes; attempting to access the radio frequency identification device by a security reader by transmission of another encrypted code to the radio frequency identification device; and responding with a correct access signal by the radio frequency identification device in response to receipt of the other encrypted code if the other encrypted code is same as the inserted encrypted code.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The invention relates to the utilization of radio frequency identification devices.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     It is known to utilize RFIDs to prevent theft of products by determining if the products have been purchased. Another use of RFIDs is to determine the inventory within a store. In addition, RFIDs have been utilized for purchasing products. One such system for this is the digital signature transponder (DST) manufactured by Texas Instruments™ that has been utilized to allow the automatic purchasing of gasoline. Such devices as the digital signal signature transponder have also been utilized for the payment of tolls on toll roads. In addition, RFIDs have been utilized in automobile keys to prevent the unauthorized starting of an automobile unless circuitry within the automobile receives the proper signal from a RFID located within the key.  
         [0003]     However, the problem remains to prevent theft by not only determining that an article may have been purchased but also that the person possessing the article is the owner of the article.  
         [0004]     Another problem remains to prevent theft whereby the article or product has been properly purchased by an organization such as a corporation and may be stolen by an employee who is not authorized to leave the premises of the organization with the item.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A method and apparatus identifying an item by attaching a radio frequency identification device to the item; obtaining encryption information; generating an encrypted code from the encryption information by a programmer; inserting the encrypted code into the radio frequency identification device by the programmer whereas the encrypted code may be one of a plurality of encrypted codes; attempting to access the radio frequency identification device by a security reader by transmission of another encrypted code to the radio frequency identification device; and responding with a correct access signal by the radio frequency identification device in response to receipt of the other encrypted code if the other encrypted code is same as the inserted encrypted code. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  illustrates, in block diagram form, an embodiment in which a programmer interconnected to a point of sales terminal remotely programming a RFID;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  illustrates, in block diagram form, an embodiment of a security reader reading the information stored in a RFID;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  illustrates, in block diagram form, another embodiment of a programmer interconnected to a database remotely programming a RFID;  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  illustrates, in block diagram form, another embodiment of a security reader reading information stored in an item RFID and a personal identification RFID;  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  illustrates, in flowchart form, operations performed by the programmer of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  illustrates, in flowchart form, operations performed by an RFID in the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  illustrates, in flowchart form, operations performed by a security reader of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  illustrates, in flowchart form, operations performed by a programmer of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 ; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 9  illustrates, in flowchart form, operations performed by the security reader of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]     In  FIG. 1 , radio frequency identification device (RFID)  108  is attached to a physical item. The physical item can be a number of things, for example, it may be clothing, food, instruments, etc.  FIG. 1  illustrates the operations of an embodiment where the item to which RFID  108  is attached is being purchased. Upon being purchased, point of sale (POS) terminal  109  transfers the information that will be utilized to derive an encrypted key to programmer  101 . In response, programmer  101  encrypts the information being received from POS terminal  109  into an encrypted code. The encrypted code then is transferred to RFID  108  via antennae  102  and  103 . After processor  106  receives the encrypted code from RF unit  104 , processor  106  stores the encrypted code into memory  107 .  
         [0016]     In another embodiment, RFID  108  may already have information concerning the physical item stored in memory  107 . For example, this information may consist of the product type. In still another embodiment, programmer  101  writes a plurality of encrypted codes into RFID  108 . As will be described with respect to  FIG. 2 , the encrypted codes may contain secure information intended for immediate or short term use as well as encrypted information that is intended for long term use. For example, the encrypted code may contain information for short term use, such as the sales receipt number, store identification, date and approximate time of purchase, purchaser&#39;s name and age, etc. The long term information that may be placed in an encrypted code and stored in memory  107  may include biological data such as finger prints, credit card number utilized to purchase the item, social security number of the purchaser, driver&#39;s license number of the purchaser, etc. In addition, the information intended for the long term encrypted code may also be the purchaser&#39;s name, age, and approximate time of purchase. In addition, other private information may be stored in RFID by programmer  101  such as personal identification, etc.  
         [0017]     RFID  108  does not respond to inquiries concerning information stored in memory  107  except when a stored encrypted code is received. However, in one embodiment RFID  108  may send false information to an inquiring reader in the absence of a stored encrypted code. In yet another embodiment, RFID  108  may transmit public information such as product type when being interrogated by a reader that has not supplied a stored encrypted code. Also, private information may be stored in memory  107  by programmer  101  that may only be released upon a stored encrypted code being received by processor  106 . Such additional information could be, for example, the date of purchase of the item and whether the item is under warranty. In one embodiment, a programmer, such as programmer  101 , could later modify the data stored in memory  107  by first transmitting the stored encrypted code to gain access to RFID  108 . The later stored data could be used to indicate a different owner. This operation could be useful when the original owner sells the item to which RFID  108  is attached, to another person. In another embodiment, ownership linked to a warranty could be protected or not protected against later change. The ownership linked to warranty could be protected when the warranty is only valid for the original owner.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates a security reader that is capable of reading the encrypted and private information from RFID  108  that is stored in memory  107  by transmitting a stored encrypted code to RFID  108 . Security reader  201  could, for example, be utilized by a security guard in a shopping mall to verify that the individual in possession of a particular item is indeed the owner of the item. It is envisioned that the security guard would be concerned only about the encrypted codes that had been stored for immediate or short term use. Another utilization of security reader  201  may be by a pawn shop or police to verify the ownership of an item some time after the purchase of the item. It is anticipated that the encrypted code utilized for this purpose would be the encrypted code previously described for long term use.  
         [0019]     Security reader  201  receives the information that had been used to generate an encrypted code that is presently stored in memory  107  from input device  203 . For example, if this is a credit card number, then security reader  201  takes the credit card number received by input device  203 , encrypts this number into an encrypted code, and transmits this encrypted code via antenna  202 , antenna  103 , and RF unit  104  to processor  106 . Processor  106  then searches memory  107  to determine if the received encrypted code matches a stored encrypted code. If there is a match of the encrypted codes, processor  106  signifies this fact to security reader  201 . In addition, processor  106  may transmit to security reader  201  any previously stored private information such as the date of purchase and warranty information. In addition, the private information may consist of the purchaser&#39;s name.  
         [0020]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate, in block diagram form, embodiments to prevent the theft of an item from the premises of an organization. The most common items that are taken in and out of the premises of an organization are normally personal to one individual of that organization. For example, items of this type include laptop computers, personal digital assistants, wireless telephones, etc. When an item of this type leaves the premises, it is important to establish that it is being taken out by the individual assigned to the item. The embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4  accomplish this.  
         [0021]     Each individual of the organization is given a personal identification RFID normally in the form of an employee badge or a separate identification card in addition to or in lieu of an employee badge. When a new item is acquired by an individual, programmer  301  of  FIG. 3  programs the RFID that is attached to the item or that will be attached to the item. This RFID is designated as RFID  308 . Programmer  301  may utilize information in database  309  as well as information from input device  311  to generate one or more encrypted codes. In another embodiment, programmer  301  first reads the individual identification from the personal identification RFID  403 . In other embodiments, the information that is to be utilized for an encrypted code to be stored in RFID  308  may be obtained from database  309  or input device  311 .  
         [0022]     The information utilized by programmer  301  must also be present in personal identification RFID  403  assigned to the individual who is also assigned the item in question. Programmer  301  utilizes the information to generate an encrypted code and transmits this encrypted code to processor  306  via antennae  302  and  303  and RF unit  304 . Processor  306  is responsive to the encrypted code to store this code in memory  307 . Memory  307  may also store public information identifying the item by its serial number or another identification code.  
         [0023]     When an individual attempts to leave the premises of the organization, security reader  401  stationed at an exit from the premises detects the presence of personal identification RFID  403  and RFID  308 . Security reader  401  accesses personal identification RFID  403  and obtains the information that had been previously utilized by programmer  301  to generate the encrypted code stored in memory  307  in  FIG. 3 . Security reader  401  generates the encrypted code and transmits this encrypted code to processor  306  via antennae  402  and  303  and RF unit  304 . Note, if an individual is not in possession of any item having a property RFID, the individual may or may not have to have a personal RFID to exit the premises.  
         [0024]     Processor  306  searches memory  307  with the received encrypted code to determine if there is a stored encrypted code that matches the received encrypted code. If the answer is yes, processor  306  transmits a signal to security reader  401  indicating that the item is in the possession of the proper individual. If processor  306  does not find a match, it transmits a signal to security reader  401  indicating that the item is not in the possession of the proper individual. In response to the latter signal, security reader  401  may sound an alarm and/or lock the exit so that the individual can not exit the premises.  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  illustrates operations  500  that are performed by one embodiment of a programmer of  FIG. 1 . After being started in block  501 , decision block  502  determines if a key has been received for encrypting a code to be stored in a RFID from the POS. Note, that there may be additional commands to instigate the operations of the programmer. If the answer is no, control is transferred back to decision block  502 . If the answer is yes, decision block  503  determines if there is a RFID present into which an encrypted code can be stored. If the answer is no, block  504  performs error recovery before transferring control back to decision block  502 .  
         [0026]     If the answer is yes in decision block  503 , block  506  generates the encrypted code from the key received from the POS, and block  507  transmits the encrypted code to the RFID for storage before transferring control to decision block  508 .  
         [0027]     Decision block  508  determines if a signal has been received from the RFID indicating that the storage of the encrypted code was successful. Note, that more than one encrypted code may be generated and transmitted for storage in the RFID. Decision block  508  determines if all of the encrypted codes have been stored successfully. If the answer in decision block  508  is no, block  509  performs error recovery before transmitting control back to decision block  502 . If the answer in decision block  508  is yes, block  511  transmits a signal indicating a successful operation to the POS before transferring control back to decision block  502 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  illustrates operations  600  that are performed by a RFID during programming and accessing. After being started in block  601 , decision block  602  determines if there is an access request being received for obtaining data from the RFID. If the answer is no, control is transferred back to decision block  602 . If the answer is yes in decision block  602 , decision block  603  determines if there is a stored encrypted code in the RFID. There may be multiple encrypted codes stored in the RFID; however, one encrypted code is sufficient.  
         [0029]     If the answer is yes in decision block  603 , control is transferred to decision block  608 . If the answer is no in decision block  603 , decision block  604  determines if encrypted codes are being received. If the answer is no, block  606  performs normal operations before transferring control back to decision block  602 . If the answer is yes in decision block  604 , block  607  stores the encrypted codes and transfers control back to decision block  602 .  
         [0030]     Returning to decision block  603 , if the answer in decision block  603  is yes, decision block  608  determines if the correct encrypted code is being received. If the answer is no, block  609  responds as an unauthorized access. The response of block  609  may be to transmit nothing back to the reader accessing the RFID, transmit back only public information stored in the RFID to the reader, or transmit false information to the reader. After execution of block  609 , control is transferred back to decision block  602 . If the answer is yes in decision block  608 , block  611  transmits a signal indicating that the correct code has been received and may also transmit any other requested information or information to be transmitted when a correct code is received. After execution of block  611 , control is transferred back to decision block  602 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 7  illustrates operations  700  performed by an embodiment of the security reader of  FIG. 2 . After being started in block  701 , decision block  702  determines if a request to scan an RFID is being received from the input device. If the answer is no, control is transferred back to decision block  702 . If the answer is yes in decision block  702 , block  703  receives the information that will be used as the key for generating the encrypted code. This information is received from the input device.  
         [0032]     Next, decision block  704  transmits the encrypted code to the RFID. Note, that after receiving the information, block  703  generates the encrypted code. After execution of block  704 , control is transferred to decision block  707 . Block  707  determines if the RFID has responded. If the answer is no, decision block  706  performs error recovery before transferring control back to decision block  702 . If the answer is yes in decision block  707 , control is transferred to decision block  708 .  
         [0033]     Decision block  708  determines if a match signal has been received back from the RFID for the encrypted code that was transmitted to the RFID. If the answer is no, control is transferred to block  709  which displays an invalid ownership indication before transferring control back to decision block  702 . If the answer is yes in decision block  708 , block  711  displays a valid ownership indication. Decision block  712  then determines if there was additional data received from the RFID in response to the transmitted encrypted code. If the answer is yes, block  713  displays this additional data before transferring control back to decision block  702 . If the answer is no in decision block  712 , control is transferred back to decision block  702 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 8  illustrates operations  800  that are performed by one embodiment of a programmer of  FIG. 3 . After being started in block  801 , decision block  802  determines if a key has been received for encrypting a code to be stored in a RFID from the programmer. Note, that there may be additional commands to instigate the operations of the programmer. If the answer is no, control is transferred back to decision block  802 . If the answer is yes, decision block  803  determines if there is a RFID present into which an encrypted code can be stored. If the answer is no, block  804  performs error recovery before transferring control back to decision block  802 .  
         [0035]     If the answer is yes in decision block  803 , block  806  generates the encrypted code from the key received from the programmer, and block  807  transmits the encrypted code to the RFID for storage before transferring control to decision block  808 .  
         [0036]     Decision block  808  determines if a signal has been received from the RFID indicating that the storage of the encrypted code was successful. Note, that more than one encrypted code may be generated and transmitted for storage in the RFID. Decision block  808  determines if all of the encrypted codes have been stored successfully. If the answer in decision block  808  is no, block  809  performs error recovery before transmitting control back to decision block  802 . If the answer in decision block  808  is yes, block  811  transmits a signal indicating a successful operation to the programmer before transferring control back to decision block  802 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 9  illustrates operations  900  performed by an embodiment of the security reader of  FIG. 4 . After being started in block  901 , decision block  902  determines if a property RFID has been detected. If the answer is no, control is transferred back to decision block  902 . If the answer is yes in decision block  902 , block  903  may receive the information from database  309 , input device  311  or personal identification RFID  403  that will be used as the key for generating the encrypted code. This information is received from the input device or by programmer accessing the personal identification RFID.  
         [0038]     Next, decision block  904  transmits the encrypted code to the RFID. Note, that after receiving the information, block  903  generates the encrypted code. After execution of block  904 , control is transferred to decision block  907 . Block  907  determines if the RFID has responded. If the answer is no, decision block  906  performs error recovery before transferring control back to decision block  902 . If the answer is yes in decision block  907 , control is transferred to decision block  908 .  
         [0039]     Decision block  908  determines if a match signal has been received back from the RFID for the encrypted code that was transmitted to the RFID. If the answer is no, control is transferred to block  909  which may sound an alarm or/and lock the exit before transferring control back to decision block  902 . If the answer is yes in decision block  908 , block  911  will allow the item to be taken off the premise. Decision block  912  then determines if there was additional data received from the RFID in response to the transmitted encrypted code. If the answer is yes, block  913  displays this additional data before transferring control back to decision block  902 . If the answer is no in decision block  912 , control is transferred back to decision block  902 .  
         [0040]     When the operations of the stations, servers, or systems are implemented in software, it should be noted that the software can be stored on any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with any computer related system or method. In the context of this document, a computer-readable medium is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection with a computer related system or method. The software can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that can store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. For example, the computer-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured via optical scanning of the paper or other medium and then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and stored in a computer memory.  
         [0041]     In an alternative embodiment, where the stations, servers, or systems is implemented in hardware, the stations, servers, or systems can be implemented with any or a combination of the following technologies, which are each well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.  
         [0042]     Of course, various changes and modifications to the illustrated embodiments described above would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the following claims except in so far as limited by the prior art.