Abstract: A method and system of determining spatial identification of an object, such as orientation, size, location, range, and/or movement, using an RFID system is disclosed. An RFID system can comprise one or more RFID reader receiving antennas that query one or more RFID tags coupled to the object. The measurement of the phase of the tag responses at the reader antennas and phase differentials as a function of distance, frequency, and time are the basis of spatial identification. The system can work with conventional Gen 2 tags and readers without modification of the tags or protocol.

Abstract: A system and method of using motion or spatial identification technology with a mobile RFID reader to detect whether an RFID tag is part of a forklift load or other ambulatory space includes determining if a tag is within a defined space or if a tag is in motion relative to a mobile RFID reader. The system and method determines whether a particular RFID tag is part of a forklift load/space, has been added to or removed, is an extraneous tag, etc.

Abstract: A system for generating an extended specular lighting field for reading symbols on a reflective background surface is described. A scanner generates illumination for illuminating the symbols. Reflection of the illumination incident upon the reflective surface is retroreflected onto the symbols on the reflective surface. Reflection of the retroreflected light by the reflective surface is received by the scanner for processing information about the symbols. By using the reflective surface to help illuminate the symbols, an ordinary scanner can be used to read the symbols.

Abstract: Communication service providers systems are dynamically selected for use by a subscriber device such as cellular telephone, other mobile device, or landline telephone based on the current location of the subscriber device and automatically comparing communication service characteristics of the communication service provider systems to determine the least expensive or otherwise preferable service provider. The communication service characteristics may include items such as current usage rates, signal strength, available bandwidth and network speed. Once a communication service provider system is selected, service provider identification information is automatically communicated to the subscriber device to enable seamless or nearly seamless switching to the selected communication service provider system, even while a current communication session is in progress using another communication service provider system.

Abstract: A distance between at least one antenna of an interrogation system and a transponder, such as an RFID tag, is determined based on derivatives with respect to frequency of the phase and the signal strength of responses transmitted by the transponder and received at the at least one antenna. The derivatives of the phase and the signal strength facilitate compensating for sources of multipath interference. Determining changes in distance may further facilitate determining location, speed, or bearing of the transponder by the interrogation system.

Abstract: A mobile printer comprising a printer body and a printer door is provided. The printer body has a recessed area that is sized to receive a media roll. The media roll has a void interior portion that is sized to receive one or more batteries that provide power to the mobile printer. Further, the printer door is operatively coupled to the printer body. When in an open position, the printer door allows for placement of a media roll from a side of the mobile printer into the recessed area. When closed, however, the media roll is retained in place relative to the printer body and the media from the media roll is captured for printing.

Abstract: A system and method is described for determining a distance to a desired target via correlating a pulse modulated signal with its corresponding reflected signal, while compensating for noise error in the reflected signal to allow for a more precise distance determination. Further details and features are described herein.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing an RFID network, comprising the following steps: each read-write station transmits at least one test signal; each read-write station (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17) receives the (receivable) test signals of neighboring read-write stations (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17), said signals comprising a station address, a frequency channel number and a measured signal intensity of each receivable neighboring read-write station (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17); a network structure (110) comprising structure data and a co-ordination plan comprising co-ordination data are calculated using a number of time slots (21, 31, 41) and a number of frequency channels (20, 30, 40), a service frequency channel (reader service channel, RSK) and/or a service time slot (reader service time, RST) being defined and used by the read-write stations (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17) for service purposes; and at least corresponding structure data and co-ordination data for an organized, synchronous network operation is transmitted

Abstract: Data carriers (such as RFID tags) are formed into clusters of data carriers. Each cluster has at least one bridge data carrier that can communicate with a bridge data carrier of another cluster, thereby allowing data carriers in each cluster to communicate directly or indirectly with each other using a stochastic communication protocol method. Direct tag-to-tag communication capability is provided between data carriers in each cluster and/or between clusters. The data carriers can backscatter and modulate a carrier wave from a source, thereby using the backscattered and modulated carrier wave to convey data to each other.

Abstract: A total number of transponders in an interrogation field is estimated or determined based on demodulated baseband direct and quadrature components from a plurality of collided responses from multiple transponders, including collided responses from which information encoded therein cannot be recovered, and would conventionally be discarded. A query or Q value may be set without an a priori knowledge of the actual number or even approximate number of transponders in the field of the interrogator or reader. Such may allow transponders to be quickly and efficiently singulated, for example in a single pass, and information read from and/or written to singulated transponders.

Abstract: A system includes a terminal, a wireless access network, a multimedia core network and a network device, which connects the wireless access network to the multimedia core network, expanded location updating to the registration procedure of the multimedia core network, and performs double registration of the user to the multimedia core network. The terminal performs expanded location updating relaying the registration point identity of the multimedia core network, the user's phone number and the private user identity to the network device in connection with normal location updating signaling. In the double registration performed by the network device, two addresses are registered for the user of the terminal, one of which is associated with the domain name of the terminal in question or a numeric IP address, and the other to a domain name of the network device or a numeric IP address.

Abstract: Processing a transponder signal received from a transponder may include providing a first signal that is in-phase with the transponder signal and a second that is off-phase with the first signal. A first transformed signal is generated using the first signal, where the first transformed signal has a first characteristic equal to the first characteristic of the first signal and a second characteristic different from the second characteristic of the first signal. A second transformed signal is generated using the second signal, where the second transformed signal has a first characteristic equal to the first characteristic of the second signal and a second characteristic different from the second characteristic of the second signal. Information incorporated in the transponder signal is obtained using a combination of the first transformed signal and the second transformed signal.

Abstract: A tamper-resistant certification device receives a certified digital time stamp from a trusted third party, resets a time function and produces a time stamp receipt in an on-line mode; The tamper-resistant certification device receives a digital file from a mobile computing device, and produces a certified digitally signed digital file including a copy of the digital file, time stamp receipt and temporal offset in an off-line mode to evidence the content of the digital file within a defined tolerance of a day and/or time. A processor may be portioned into tamper and non-tamper resistant portions.

Abstract: A wireless communication system having a terminal unit operates in a reduced noise state during receipt of a wireless transmission from a control unit. The terminal unit includes terminal circuitry, a radio and noise management circuitry. The noise management circuitry partially or fully disables operation of the terminal circuitry during a receipt by the radio. Noise management circuitry may disable a terminal processor, disable interrupts, buffer interrupts and otherwise modify operation of the terminal circuitry to reduce generated radio noise that would otherwise interfere with receipt of data by the radio. The wireless communication system includes noise management circuitry located in a control unit that operates in conjunction with noise management circuitry in a first terminal unit and a second terminal unit to schedule transmissions from the control unit. These scheduled transmissions allow the terminal units to perform required processing functions outside of the reduced noise period.

Abstract: An automated ticketing and boarding (ATB) device may replace both legacy boarding pass printers and gate readers, without reconfiguring existing departure control systems (DCSs). The replacement ATB device may create a virtual magnetic stripe in memory from the formatted flight and/or passenger information received from the DCS, and may extract portions of the virtual magnetic stripe to form a boarding pass with an optical machine-readable symbol instead of a magnetic stripe transparently to the DCS.

Abstract: One embodiment of a method for identifying a codeword as an erasure in a Quick Response code (QR code) captured by a bar code reader includes, identifying the scrambling mask used for encoding the data in the QR code. A location of the codeword in the QR code corresponds with a portion of the scrambling mask. The codeword comprises multiple codeword bits and the portion of the scrambling mask comprises multiple mask bits. The method further includes, generating an unscrambled codeword by performing a logical operation between each of the multiple codeword bits and each of the multiple mask bits, generating a reference matrix by applying the scrambling mask to a uniform matrix, and/or comparing the unscrambled codeword with the reference matrix to determine whether the codeword is the erasure.

Abstract: A thermal printer includes a capacitor and a power converter operable to step a voltage of a power source, and coupled to charge the capacitor. Printing is controlled based at least in part on a charge state of the capacitor. Delays in charging the capacitor may be avoided where a current line of print data is blank. Operation may be curtailed where the voltage of the power source is below a threshold.

Abstract: A radio frequency identification system comprises a radio-frequency identification substrate and an interrogator. In one embodiment, the radio-frequency identification substrate comprises a plurality of radio-frequency identification devices. In one embodiment, a first radio-frequency identification device on the substrate monitors an indication of a response of a second radio-frequency identification device on the substrate to an interrogation signal and selectively responds to the interrogation signal based on the monitoring of the indication.

Abstract: A carrier structure has a plurality of cells. A corresponding plurality of objects having data carriers, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, is placed in each cell. Each cell has an indicator associated therewith and is defined by walls that substantially prevent waves (such as RF waves) from propagating between cells. A control module is coupled to the carrier structure and is operative to selectively activate individual ones of the indicators. An automatic data collection device (such as an RFID reader) interrogates the data carriers of the objects placed in the cells, and the data carriers can provide response signals to the data collection device. The control module also monitors the response signals using an antenna present in each cell. If the data collection device selects a particular one of the responsive data carriers, the data collection device provides a notification signal to the control module to notify the control module of the selection.

Abstract: A system and method of scanning machine-readable symbols with a signal source modulated by a local oscillator to create by heterodyne mixing upconverted signals at the sum and difference frequencies of the local oscillator frequency and the frequency of the time-varying reflectance off the scanned symbols is disclosed. The reflected heterodyned signal is detected by a receiver. Ambient noise is filtered out from the reflected signal, and the received signal at the sum and difference frequencies is processed.