KR101531945B1 - Rfid tag having a self-initialization function - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an RFID tag and, especially, to an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function capable of performing the initialization function of an embedded non-volatile memory automatically, and an embedded memory initialization method. The RFID tag comprises; a look-up table which stores embedded memory initialization data of a tag; an RFID tag controller which controls a general motion of the RFID tag and requests a self-initialization progress according to the existence and nonexistence of an initialization command from a reader; a flag state processing unit which stores a flag state and outputs a memory initialization request signal according to a self-initialization progress request command; a multiplexer which selects and outputs one among data outputted from the lock-up table and the RFID tag controller according to an input of the memory initialization request signal; and a memory controller which initializes a memory by writing the memory initialization data outputted from the multiplexer according to the input of the memory initialization request signal in an internal memory of the tag.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function,

The present invention relates to an RFID tag, and more particularly, to an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function for automatically performing an initialization function of a built-in nonvolatile memory and a tag built-in memory initialization method.

An RFID is a technology for providing a non-contact type automatic identification method in which an RFID tag is attached to an object to be identified and the RFID reader is communicated through transmission and reception using a wireless signal in order to automatically identify an object using a wireless signal. Technology that can compensate for the shortcomings of bar code and optical character recognition technology.

These RFIDs use frequencies of several bands, and their characteristics vary depending on the frequency band. In general, the lower the frequency band, the slower the recognition rate, the shorter distance, and the less affected by the environment. On the other hand, the higher the frequency band, the faster the recognition speed, the longer distance, and the more environmentally affected.

For reference, the RFID tag includes an antenna for receiving a radio signal transmitted from an RFID reader, and a controller for generating a power supply voltage (VDD) of the RFID tag by amplifying a radio signal received through the antenna, A reset signal, a clock signal, and a command signal from the analog circuit unit, and outputs the address input / output data, the control signal, and the clock to the memory And a nonvolatile memory for storing data.

On the other hand, the UHF band RFID tag having the above-described configuration is generally subjected to an initialization process in a manufacturing step in order to initialize the nonvolatile memory. Initialization refers to recording of valid data in the memory of the RFID tag. Since this initialization process is performed through a separately programmed dedicated RFID reader, it takes a long time to initialize tens to hundreds of thousands of tags. This causes a rise in the cost of manufacturing the RFID tag. In addition, since the tag initialization process is performed through a dedicated RFID reader, there is a limit in that the RFID chip reader can not check the bad state of the tag chip in the manufacturing stage of the RFID tag chip.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0053909

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an RFID tag and a built-in memory initialization method having an automatic initialization function that can confirm whether an RFID tag chip normally operates even in a general commercial reader.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an automatic initialization function capable of reducing the manufacturing cost by increasing the production amount per second by automatically performing the initialization function of the embedded nonvolatile memory, And a method of initializing a built-in tag.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function,

A lookup table storing internal memory initialization data of the tag;

An RFID tag controller for controlling an overall operation of the RFID tag, the RFID tag controller requesting progress of self-initialization according to the presence or absence of an initialization command from the reader device;

A flag state processor for storing a flag state and outputting the memory initialization request signal according to the self initialization progress request command;

A multiplexer for selectively outputting either the lookup table or the data output from the RFID tag controller in response to the memory initialization request signal;

And a memory controller for writing the memory initialization data output from the multiplexer in the tag internal memory according to the memory initialization request signal input to initialize the memory.

Furthermore, the tag controller may further control the memory controller to initialize the internal memory in response to the initialization command from the reader.

In addition, the memory controller of the present invention is characterized in that an initialization end flag indicating whether the internal memory is initialized is set in a tag, and the RFID tag is a UHF band RFID tag.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of initializing a built-in memory of an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function,

Checking whether an internal access lock flag set by the RFID reader is set in the initial activation state, and checking whether an initialization command is received from the RFID reader if the internal access lock flag is not set;

If the initialization command is not received for a predetermined period of time, initializing the internal memory of the tag using the initialization data stored in the lookup table;

And setting an initialization end flag of the internal memory,

And initializing a memory in the tag by controlling the memory controller to initialize the internal memory in response to the initialization command when the initialization command is received from the RFID reader.

According to the present invention, since the RFID tag itself can initialize the internal memory, it is possible to confirm whether the RFID tag chip operates normally even in a general commercial reader,

Furthermore, since the nonvolatile memory built in the RFID tag can be initialized by itself, the manufacturing cost can be lowered by increasing the production amount per second of the RFID tag, and the efficiency of the manufacturing process can be increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a block configuration of a part of an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
2 illustrates an example of the structure of a nonvolatile memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initialization process of an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a part of an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a nonvolatile memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the RFID tag according to the embodiment of the present invention is an UHF band RFID tag, which includes an antenna for receiving a radio signal transmitted from an RFID reader, such as a general RFID tag, An analog circuit for generating a power supply voltage VDD of the RFID tag, detecting an operation command signal from the input radio signal, and transmitting the command signal to the digital circuitry, and a power supply voltage VDD, A digital circuit for receiving a clock signal and a command signal and outputting address input / output data, a control signal and a clock to a memory, and a nonvolatile memory for storing data. As shown in FIG. 1, the dual digital circuit unit includes a lookup table (LUT) 120 for storing at least internal memory initialization data of the tag, and a lookup table (LUT) 120 for controlling the overall operation of the RFID tag. A flag state processor 130 for storing a flag state and outputting a memory initialization request signal NVM_INIT_REQ in response to the self initialization advance request DO_INIT_NVM_FLAG command, the RFID tag controller 100 for requesting initialization progress (DO_INIT_NVM_FLAG) A multiplexer (MUX) 110 for selectively outputting the data output from the look-up table 120 and the RFID tag controller 100 according to an input of the memory initialization request signal NVM_INIT_REQ, The memory initialization data (LUT_DATA) output from the multiplexer (MUX) 110 according to the input of the memory initialization request signal NVM_INIT_REQ By writing to the internal memory, a memory controller 140 for memory initialization.

For reference, the RFID tag controller 100 may control the memory controller 140 to initialize the internal memory in response to an initialization command from the reader. The memory controller 140 determines whether the internal memory is initialized An initialization end flag INIT_NVM_DONE_FLAG indicating the initialization flag INIT_NVM_DONE_FLAG may be set in the tag.

2 shows an area division of a nonvolatile internal memory in which data is read / written / erased by the memory controller 140. As shown, the memory includes a reserved memory area, an EPC memory area, TID memory area, and user memory area.

Hereinafter, a memory initialization process of the RFID tag having the above-described configuration will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 illustrates an initialization process of an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the initial power supply is applied after the completion of tag production, the analog circuit unit generates a clock and the RFID tag controller 100 confirms the ACCESS_LOCK_Flag information set by the RFID reader (Step S10). If it is determined that the access lock flag information is set to '1', the initialization operation is ended because the memory initialization is completed by the reader.

However, if the access lock flag is not set, the RFID tag controller 100 proceeds to step S12 and checks whether an initialization command is received from the RFID reader within a predetermined time.

If the initialization command is received from the RFID reader as a result of the check, the RFID tag controller 100 controls the memory controller 140 to initialize the internal memory in response to the initialization command, ). After setting the access lock flag information to '1' (S20), a memory initialization end flag (INIT_NVM_DONE_Flag) is set (S22), and the memory initialization process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the initialization command is not received from the RFID reader for a predetermined time, the RFID tag controller 100 performs system control to initialize the internal memory of the tag using the initialization data stored in the lookup table 120 (S14) . That is, the RFID tag controller 100 outputs a self initialization advance request (DO_INIT_NVM_FLAG) command to the flag state processing unit 130. The flag state processing unit 130 supplies the memory initialization request signal NVM_INIT_REQ to the multiplexer 110 And the memory controller 140. [

The initialization data stored in the lookup table 120 according to the DO_INIT_NVM_FLAG command is transferred to the memory controller 140 through the multiplexer 110 and used for initializing the internal memory.

When the memory initialization through the lookup table 120 is completed, a memory initialization end flag (INIT_NVM_DONE_Flag) is set (step S16), and the memory initialization process according to the embodiment of the present invention ends.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the RFID tag itself can initialize the internal memory, it is possible to confirm whether the RFID tag chip operates normally even in a general commercial reader, and a nonvolatile memory built in the RFID tag It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by increasing the production quantity per second of the RFID tag because it can be initialized by itself, and there is an advantage that the efficiency of the manufacturing process can be increased.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, 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 invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.

Claims (6)

In an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function,
A lookup table storing internal memory initialization data of the tag;
An RFID tag controller for controlling an overall operation of the RFID tag, the RFID tag controller requesting the self initialization progress according to the presence or absence of an initialization command from the reader;
A flag state processor for storing a flag state and outputting the memory initialization request signal according to the self initialization progress request command;
A multiplexer for selectively outputting either the lookup table or the data output from the RFID tag controller in response to the memory initialization request signal;
And a memory controller for writing the memory initialization data output from the multiplexer in the tag internal memory in response to the memory initialization request signal input to initialize the memory initialization data. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag controller controls the memory controller to initialize an internal memory in response to an initialization command from a reader. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the memory controller sets an initialization end flag in the tag to indicate whether initialization of the internal memory is completed or not. The RFID tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is a UHF band RFID tag. A method of initializing an internal memory of an RFID tag having an automatic initialization function,
Checking whether an internal access lock flag set by the RFID reader is set in the initial activation state, and checking whether an initialization command is received from the RFID reader if the internal access lock flag is not set;
If the initialization command is not received for a predetermined period of time, initializing the internal memory of the tag using the initialization data stored in the lookup table;
And setting an initialization end flag of the internal memory. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of initializing a memory in the tag by controlling the memory controller to initialize the internal memory in response to the initialization command when the initialization command is received from the RFID reader How to initialize tag's internal memory.

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