Patent ID: 8446256

Claim:
A radio frequency identification (RFID) multiplexer system, comprising: a plurality of multiplexers connected in series including an initial multiplexer; and a control unit connected to the initial multiplexer and comprising: a host coupling module configured to receive and transmit RF signals through a wired connection to an RFID reader, wherein the received RF signals include signals for wireless transmission and control signals for antenna switching; a power module configured to transmit, to the plurality of multiplexers in series, Direct Current (DC) components combined with RF signals from the RFID reader; a processing module configured to detect power levels of RF signals received from the RFID reader, backscatter at least a portion of the received RF signals from the RFID reader through the wired connection to communicate information including the detected power levels of the RF signals received from the RFID reader, and transmit both the RF signals for wireless transmission and the control signals for antenna switching to the plurality of multiplexers connected in series; and a tag emulator module configured to emulate an RFID tag such that the backscattered signal is transmitted in accordance with an RFID protocol, wherein the tag emulator module may transmit a reply to a received signal from the RFID reader using power stored from the previously received RF signals, independent of an internal power source.