Abstract:
The present invention relates to an RFID parameter setting method and device in an RFID system including a first means for comparing a first mobile country code provided by the outside and a currently set second mobile country code, and generating a control signal for changing an RFID parameter setting of the RFID system according to the RFID standard that corresponds to the first mobile country code when the first mobile country code and the second mobile country code do not correspond with each other, and a second means for setting an operational frequency of the RFID system according to the control signal.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0127786 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 10, 2007, and No. 10-2008-0020669 filed therein on Mar. 5, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    (a) Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a radio frequency identification (RFID) parameter setting method and device in an RFID system, and more particularly, relates to a method and device for automatically setting an RFID parameter by using a mobile country code (MCC) included in a downlink signal of a mobile communication network. 
         [0004]    This work was supported by the IT R&amp;D program of MIC/IITA [2006-S-023-02, Development of Advanced RFID System Technology]. 
         [0005]    (b) Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    RFID is a skill for recognizing, tracking, and managing things, animals, or people to which an electronic tag is attached by reading or recording information from the tag (electronic tag or transponder) having proper identification information through a non-contact method by using radio frequency (RF) signals. A passive RFID system generally uses a frequency of 900 MHz bandwidth, and includes a plurality of tags that have proper identification information and are attached to a product, human, or animal, and an RFID reader (or interrogator) for reading or writing information of the tag. 
         [0007]    A mobile RFID uses ultra high frequency (UHF) (860-960 MHz) bandwidth from among various radio frequency bandwidths for the RFID/USN (ubiquitous sensor network). 
         [0008]    The domestic standard has selected the channel bandwidth of 200 kHz for each channel in the frequency bandwidth of 5.5 MHz of 908.5-915 MHz, and uses the European listen before talk (LBT) method together with the US frequency hopping (FH) method. 
         [0009]    Table 1 expresses the frequency bandwidths allocated to different countries. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Countries 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 ISO/ 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 IEC 
                 US 
                 EU 
                 Australia 
                 Brazil 
                 China 
                 Japan 
                 Korea 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Allocated 
                 860-960 
                 902-928 MHz 
                 865.6-867.6 MHz 
                 920-926 MHz 
                 902-907.5 MHz 
                 840.5-844.5 MHz 
                 952-954 MHz 
                 908.5-914 MHz 
               
               
                 frequency 
                 MHz 
                 26Mz 
                 (2 MHz) 
                 (6 MHz) 
                   915-928 MHz 
                 920.5-924.5 MHz 
                 952-955 MHz 
                 (5.5 MHz) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0010]    As expressed in Table 1, the RFID system has different frequency ranges, outputs, and channel use methods for the respective countries. Therefore, it is required to reset the RFID parameters depending on the current country when a user moves between countries holding a mobile RFID phone. Particularly, when the frequency bandwidth used by the RFID reader of the mobile RFID phone corresponds to the mobile communication frequency bandwidth used in the corresponding area, the functions of the RFID reader cannot be used, and the mobile communication terminal of the mobile RFID phone may interfere with the RFID reader. 
         [0011]    For example, since the global system for mobile communication (GSM) system uses the frequency bandwidth of 890-915 MHz for uplink and uses the frequency bandwidth of 935-960 MHz for downlink, many parts of the frequency bandwidths match the RFID frequency bandwidth used by many countries. Therefore, when the user moves from a country using the GSM system to another country using the RFID frequency range including the frequency bandwidth of the GSM system or vice versa, the mobile communication terminal of the mobile RFID phone and the RFID reader interfere with each other. 
         [0012]    That is, the RFID frequencies or the outputs violating the standards of other countries cannot be used as a rule. Therefore, the RFID function cannot be used when the user moves between the countries using different RFID frequency bandwidths. 
         [0013]    The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a method for automatically setting an RFID parameter according to an RFID frequency bandwidth used by a corresponding country when moving between countries using different RFID frequency bandwidths. 
         [0015]    An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an RFID parameter setting device of an RFID system including: a first means for comparing a first mobile country code provided by the outside and a currently set second mobile country code, and generating a control signal for changing RFID parameter setting of the RFID system according to the RFID standard that corresponds to the first mobile country code when the first mobile country code and the second mobile country code do not correspond with each other; and a second means for setting an operational frequency of the RFID system according to the control signal. 
         [0016]    Another embodiment of the present invention provides an RFID parameter setting method of an RFID system including: receiving a signal from a base station; extracting a first mobile country code from the signal; and when the first mobile country code does not correspond to the currently set second mobile country code, changing the RFID parameter setting of the RFID system according to the RFID standard corresponding to the first mobile country code. 
         [0017]    Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides an RFID parameter setting method of an RFID system including: receiving a first mobile country code; and when the first mobile country code does not correspond to the currently set second mobile country code, changing the RFID parameter setting of the RFID system according to the RFID standard corresponding to the first mobile country code. 
         [0018]    According to the present invention, the RFID parameter of the RFID reader is set by the RFID standard of the corresponding country during roaming by the mobile RFID phone to prevent collision between the mobile communication frequency and the RFID frequency, and the RFID function can be used for movement between countries using different RFID frequency bandwidths. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of an RFID parameter setting device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  shows a flowchart of an RFID parameter setting method according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a flowchart of an RFID parameter setting method according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification. 
         [0023]    Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. Also, the terms “unit”, “device”, and “module” in the present specification represent a unit for processing a predetermined function or operation, which can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. 
         [0024]    First, a RFID parameter setting device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of the RFID parameter setting device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the RFID parameter setting device includes a terminal  100  and an RFID reader  200 . 
         [0026]    The terminal  100  includes a base station signal receiver  101 , an MCC extractor  102 , and an RFID reader communicator  103 . The base station signal receiver  101  receives a signal from the base station, the MCC extractor  102  extracts an MCC including serviced country information from the received signal, and the RFID reader communicator  103  transmits the extracted MCC to an RFID reader. 
         [0027]    The RFID reader includes an MCC RFID standard storage unit  201 , a terminal communicator  202 , an MCC comparator  203 , a frequency controller  204 , a channel bandwidth controller  205 , an output power controller  206 , an LBT/FHSS (frequency hoping spread spectrum) on/off unit  207 , a phase-locked loop (PLL)  208 , a band pass filter  209 , an output amplifier  210 , and an LBT/FHSS controller  211 . 
         [0028]    The MCC RFID standard storage unit  201  stores RFID standards for the respective MCC&#39;s. That is, the MCC RFID standard storage unit  201  stores RFID parameters for the MCC including a frequency range, a channel width, a central frequency, a maximum power, an LBT usage state, an FHSS usage state, and an LBT/FHSS concurrent usage state. 
         [0029]    The terminal communicator  202  receives an MCC from the terminal  100 . 
         [0030]    The MCC comparator  203  determines whether the MCC provided by the terminal  100  matches the existing MCC, and when they match with each other, it maintains the existing RFID reader frequency setting method, and when they do not, it refers to the MCC RFID standard storage unit  201  transmits a control signal for changing the RFID parameter setting of the RFID reader according to the RFID standard that corresponds to the MCC provided by the terminal  100  to the frequency controller  204 , the channel bandwidth controller  205 , the output power controller  206 , and the LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207 . 
         [0031]    The frequency controller  204  changes the frequency setting of the PLL  208  according to the control signal provided by the MCC comparator  203  to set an operational frequency of the RFID reader  200 , the channel bandwidth controller  205  controls the bandwidth of the band pass filter  209  according to the control signal provided by the MCC comparator  203 , and the output power controller  206  controls the power of the output amplifier  210  according to the control signal provided by the MCC comparator  203 . The LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207  sets the functions of the LBT and the FHSS. 
         [0032]    The LBT/FHSS controller  211  receives the control signal from the LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207  to set the function so that the RFID reader may be operable by LBT or FHSS. 
         [0033]    An RFID parameter setting method according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  shows a flowchart of an RFID parameter setting method according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , when the terminal  100  roams (S 301 ) and the base station signal receiver  101  receives a signal from the base station (S 302 ), the MCC extractor  102  extracts the MCC from the received signal (S 303 ). The signal received by the base station signal receiver  101  includes an MCC including country information, and it is used to identify the currently serviced country through the MCC. 
         [0035]    The MCC comparator  203  compares the extracted MCC and the MCC stored in the RFID reader  200 , that is, the MCC set in the RFID reader  200  to determine whether the extracted MCC corresponds to the MCC set in the RFID (S 304 ). When the extracted MCC corresponds to the MCC set in the RFID, the RFID reader  200  maintains the RFID parameter setting (S 305 ). 
         [0036]    When the extracted MCC does not correspond to the MCC set in the RFID, the MCC comparator  203  finds an RFID standard corresponding to the MCC extracted from the MCC RFID standard storage unit  201 , and transmits a control signal for changing the RFID parameter setting of the RFID reader  200  to the frequency controller  204 , the channel bandwidth controller  205 , the output power controller  206 , and the LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207  (S 306 ). 
         [0037]    The frequency controller  204  sets the frequency range and central frequency of the RFID reader  200  according to the control signal (S 307 ), the channel bandwidth controller  205  sets the channel bandwidth according to the control signal (S 308 ), and the output power controller  206  sets the power of the output amplifier  210  according to the control signal (S 309 ). The LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207  sets the LBT and FHSS function according to the control signal (S 310 ). 
         [0038]    An RFID parameter setting method according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  shows a flowchart of an RFID parameter setting method according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , an MCC is provided by a user (S 401 ). 
         [0040]    The MCC comparator  203  compares the input MCC and the MCC stored in the RFID reader  200 , that is, the MCC set in the RFID reader  200 , determines whether the extracted MCC corresponds to the MCC set in the RFID (S 402 ), and when they correspond with each other, it maintains the RFID parameter setting (S 403 ), and when they do not, it finds an RFID standard that corresponds to the MCC input by the MCC RFID standard storage unit  201  and transmits a control signal for changing the RFID parameter setting of the RFID reader  200  to the frequency controller  204 , the channel bandwidth controller  205 , the output power controller  206 , and the LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207  (S 404 ). 
         [0041]    The frequency controller  204  sets a frequency range and a central frequency of the RFID reader  200  according to the control signal (S 405 ), the channel bandwidth controller  205  sets the channel bandwidth according to the control signal (S 406 ), and the output power controller  206  sets the power of the output amplifier  210  according to the control signal (S 407 ). The LBT/FHSS on/off unit  207  sets the LBT and FHSS function according to the control signal (S 408 ). 
         [0042]    The above-described embodiments can be realized through a program for realizing functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments or a recording medium for recording the program in addition to through the above-described device and/or method, which is easily realized by a person skilled in the art. 
         [0043]    While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.