WO2011051504A1

WO2011051504A1 - Thermometer for remote measurement using rfid technology

Info

Publication number: WO2011051504A1
Application number: PCT/ES2009/000517
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antonio DÍAZ VILLALTA
Original assignee: Mediciones Eléctricas De Andalucía, S.L.
Priority date: 2009-10-28
Filing date: 2009-10-28
Publication date: 2011-05-05

Abstract

The invention describes a thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, which thermometer consists of a device which is intended to measure body temperatures and is formed by three modules, namely a transponder which is stuck to the body using an anti-allergic sticker and makes it possible to measure the temperature, a reading module which provides the transponder with energy, reads the data returned to it and communicates said data to an information system, and an information system module which can be accommodated in a desktop device or in a computer and will be responsible for managing the actions of the transponder(s) and of the reader(s) in various transponders and, if necessary, setting alarms as a function of the measurements and informing other systems if required.

Description

THERMOMETER FOR DISTANCE MEASUREMENT THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

RFID

DESCRIPTION

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention, as expressed in the statement of the present specification, refers to a thermometer that by using RFID technology, allows to measure the temperature of a human or animal body.

More specifically, the object of the invention consists of a device for temperature measurement that is constituted by three modules: a transponder, which will be attached to the body by means of an anti-allergic sticker and which will allow to measure the temperature ; a reader or interrogator that will provide power to the transponder, which reads the data that arrives back and informs it to an information system, and an information system module that can be housed in a desktop device or a computer that will be in charge of managing the actions of the, or of, the transponder (s), and of the, or of, the reader (s), plan them, differentiate the readings of different transponders if necessary, establish alarms based on measures, and inform other systems if you like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Different devices for the measurement of temperatures in human and animal bodies are known in the current state of the art, some of which perform the measurement having a determined distance between the body on which the measurement is made and the person who has to visualize the obtained data.

Some devices have been developed to solve this problem, such as that described in the PCT patent application no. WO 94/25841, by means of which a local thermometer capable of sending a warning signal is developed when the temperature of the body to be controlled is not within the predetermined band. This device only allows to know if the temperature is outside the determined bands, but it does not allow to make the exact measurement of the temperature, for which the device must be consulted directly attached to the body, in addition to not being able to detect if the device attached to the body It has stopped working, since it simply does not emit any signal.

Another known device that can be considered as the closest antecedent to this invention, is the one described in the patent application no. 009801017, by means of which a telematic thermometer consisting of an emitter and a receiver is developed, in which the temperature can be read from a distance, improving that described in PCT Patent no. 94/25841, but which still presents a series of drawbacks, such as for example the fact that the emitter module incorporates a clamp or the like for its attachment to a garment, which means that in case the body on which you want to make the measurement do not have clothes, as in the case of an animal, or that the person who uses it does not wear it, or simply, unconsciously, move and move the sensor from the right place to make the measurements , the thermometer will stop performing the required function. A specific case can be that of babies or that of people who, due to illness, are not aware of the movements that they do and can move or detach the emitter module held with a clamp. In addition, given the characteristics of the sensor (clamp, battery and device itself), it has a considerable size that bothers the person or animal on which the measurement is being made. Another additional drawback of this device is that the receiver only serves one transmitter, so that when one is in an environment in which it is desired to perform temperature control on more than one body, one receiver will be needed for each transmitter in instead of a single receiver for all existing issuers.

Taking into account the above, the thermometer to be described has been developed with RFID technology, which allows to solve the drawbacks of the objects described in the Patent documents mentioned above, since the transponder, which will act as a sensor for temperature measurement, it consists of an adhesive label with integrated temperature sensor, which can be attached to the body by means of an antiallergic sticker, thus avoiding the need to use a clip that hooks onto clothing, ensuring constant contact with the surface on which you want to make the measurement even if the body moves in an uncontrolled way. In addition, given the dimensions of the transponder, the person or animal on which the device adheres will not experience any discomfort in its habitual movements, being able to completely forget the sensor.

Additionally, the device comprises two other modules that are the reader module or interrogator, which provides power to the transponder, which reads the data that comes back and informs a module that incorporates an information system. The reader module consists of a radio frequency submodule (transmitter and receiver), a control unit and an antenna. In addition, the reader module incorporates a communication interface with the information system module through a local or remote link such as RS232, RS485, Ethernet, WLAN (RF, Bluetooth, Wifi, etc.), which allows data to be sent from the transponder to the information system module, as well as executing the orders sent by the information system module. The information system module, based on the utility to be given to the device, can be a small desktop device (in case you want to manage one or a few transponders), with a multifunction screen that through a series of buttons can be programmed to set the temperature sampling frequency of one or more reader modules, manage the different transponders, set alarms according to the time or temperature information received, select the metric in which they want to read the temperature data (° C, ° F, etc.), etc. In case of wanting to control a considerable number of reading modules and their corresponding transponders, the information system module may consist of software that will be housed in a PC, which will allow performing the same functions as the desktop device, in addition to to be able to define temperature curves to analyze their evolution in a visual way, create reports of the evolution of temperature, generate a history of the readings of each of the transponders, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The only figure that accompanies the present description shows an illustrative block diagram of the various modules and sub-modules that make up the thermometer of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the thermometer device for remote measurement, using RFID technology, which the invention advocates, consists of a device structured from three fundamental modules:

TRANSPONDER MODULE:

The transponder is a device that is embedded in a tag or tag ", which generates and transmits the information of the body to which it is attached when the reader module requests it.

It is mainly composed of a microchip and an antenna. Additionally, in some cases, you can incorporate a battery.

The information of the label is transmitted modulated in amplitude, frequency or phase, although generally the most used is amplitude modulation because it is the easiest to demodulate.

The labels can be active or passive depending on whether they are provided with a battery or not. The use of one or the other type of labels will depend on the frequency at which the device must be used, which will vary depending on the coverage, the costs, the need to store information on the label, etc. Preferably, passive tags will be used in order to keep the size of the tags as small as possible, and thus be more comfortable for the body to which they are attached. Transponders will store information that will be transmitted, when requested by the reader, as an identifier that will characterize the body on which the label is affixed, the temperature information that is being read from the body, as well as any other information considered of interest. .

The transponder will consist of an anti-allergic sticker of small dimensions, with an integrated temperature sensor.

READER MODULE:

The reader or interrogator is the device that provides power to the transponders, reads the data (transponder identifier and temperature measured in the body) that arrive back, validates the transponders that are of our device, and sends the data to the module of the information system. It also guarantees the communication sequence with the transponders.

In order to fulfill such functions, it is equipped with a radiofrequency submodule (transmitter, receiver), a control unit and an antenna. In addition, the reader incorporates an interface for the information system module through a local or remote link: RS232, RS485, Ethernet, WLAN (Wifi, Bluetooth, etc.), which allows data to be sent from the transponders to the system of information.

The reader will be able to interrogate the transponders continuously to obtain the temperature information instantaneously or with a configurable periodicity that provides the temperature data in different time ranges.

The submodule of radio frequency, basically consists of a transmitter that generates the radio frequency signal and a receiver that receives, also via radiofrequency, the data sent by the labels. Therefore, its functions are:

1. - Generate the radiofrequency signal to activate the transponders and provide them with power;

2. - Modulate the transmission of the signal to send the data to the transponder;

3. - Receive and demodulate the signals received from the transponders.

The control unit, basically constituted by a microprocessor, will be responsible for the following functions:

1. - Encode and decode the signals coming from the transponders,

2. - Verify the integrity of the data and store them,

3. - Manage access to the media: activate the tags, initialize the session, authenticate and authorize the transmission, detect and correct errors, manage the multi-billing process of different transponders, encrypt and decrypt the data, etc.

4. - Communicate through the interface with the information system module, executing the received orders and transmitting the information received from the labels.

The antenna of the reader is the element that enables communication between the reader and the transponders. The The working frequency of the antenna will vary, among other reasons, depending on the desired coverage radius for the device. INFORMATION SYSTEM MODULE:

The information system module, based on the utility that is intended to give the device, may consist of a small desktop device (in case you intend to manage one or a small number of transponders), with a multifunction screen that through a series of buttons can be programmed to set the sampling frequency of the temperature of one or more reader modules, manage the different transponders, display the temperature of each of them, set alarms according to the time or information of temperature received, select the metric in which you want to read the temperature data (° C, ° F, etc.), etc. In case it is intended to control a large number of reading modules and their corresponding transponders, the information system module may consist of software that is hosted on a PC, will allow to perform the same functions of the desktop device, in addition to being able to define temperature curves to analyze their evolution in a visual way, create reports on the evolution of temperature, generate a history of the readings of each of the transponders, etc.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

According to what is represented in the drawings, the thermometer that allows, by using RFID technology, to remotely measure the temperature of a human or animal body, consists of a transponder module (1) formed by an anti-virus label. allergic and a temperature sensor (2). The transponder module communicates with a reader module (3), to provide the operating energy (in case it does not have a battery), and to which the data coming from the transponders arrive. The reader module (3) is formed by an antenna (4), a radiofrequency submodule (5) formed in turn by a radio frequency transmitter and receiver, a control unit (6) and a communication interface (7). ) with an information system module (8) that may consist of a desktop device or a computer with embedded software that manages the entire system and allows to view all the information and configure it.

Claims

1. - Thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, intended for the measurement of temperatures in human or animal bodies through a system that has sensors that are attached to the bodies by means of anti-allergic stickers that, through RFID technology, send the readings to a information system in which they can be viewed, analyzed, configured, set alerts, etc., characterized in that it comprises a transponder module (1) formed by an anti-allergic adhesive label and a temperature sensor (2); a reader module (3) formed by an antenna (4), a radiofrequency sub-module (5), a control unit (6) and a communication interface (7) with an information system module (8).

2. Thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, according to claim 1, characterized in that the transponder module (1) is active when it is supplied by a battery when it is required, or passive in case it is exclusively powered by the energy from the reader module (3), including the transponder module (1) a temperature sensor (2) responsible for providing the temperature data of the body to which it is attached when requested, and so, additionally, the module transponder (1) is adhered to the body by means of an anti-allergic sticker that ensures that the transponder is kept in the place where it was placed, the dimensions of the transponder being small in order to ensure that they do not imply discomfort for the body to which it is attached. adheres, and also having the transponder module (1) of an identifier that allows it to be differentiated from any other transponder located in another body.

3. - Thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the reader module (3) is responsible for requesting information from the transponder module (1), encoding and decoding the signals from the transponders , verify the integrity of the data and store them, activate the tags, initialize the session, authenticate and authorize the transmission, detect and correct errors, manage the multi-billing process of different transponders, encrypt and decrypt the data, among others, being also responsible to communicate, through the interface, with the information system module (8).

4. - Thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, according to claims 1 to 3, characterized by a module (3) whose working frequency depends, among other factors, on the distance between the antenna and the transponders, of the type of antenna used, and the power used to transmit the signal.

5. - Thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the reader module (3) includes a communication interface (7) with the information system module (8) through a link local or remote such as RS232, RS485, Ethernet, WLAN (Wifi, Bluetooth, etc.), which allows data to be sent from the transponders (1) to the information system module (8).

6. - Thermometer for remote measurement through RFID technology, according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information system module (8), when it is desired to control one or a few transponders, consists of a small desktop device with a multifunction screen that through a series of buttons can be programmed to set the sampling rate of the temperature of the reader module (s), manage the different transponders, display the temperature of each of them, set alarms according to the time or the temperature information received, and select the metric in which you want to read the temperature data (° C, ° F, etc.), among others.

7. Thermometer for remote measurement using RFID technology, according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the information system module (8), in case it is intended to control a considerable number of reading modules and their corresponding transponders , consists of a software hosted on a PC so that it allows to perform the same functions of the desktop device of claim 6, in addition to being able to define temperature curves to analyze its evolution in a visual way, create reports of the evolution of temperature , and manage a history of the readings of each of the transponders, among others.