Radio frequency identification sensor assembly
View Patent ↗In accordance with one embodiment, an RFID sensor assembly comprises a sensing RFID chip and a reference RFID chip. The sensing RFID chip and the reference RFID chip are configured for electrical coupling to an electronic component via a coupling arrangement. The coupling arrangement of the sensing RFID chip is configured to vary a coupling property in response to a sensed parameter.
1. An RFID system comprising:
an RFID sensor assembly with at least one pair of RFID chips in which at least one chip of the pair is a sensing RFID chip and at least one chip of the pair is a reference chip; and
an RFID interrogator wherein the interrogator includes an RFID reader and a first antenna such that the reader is configured to vary a power and frequency of a signal transmitted to the at least one pair of RFID chips;
wherein the at least one pair of RFID chips is coupled to a second antenna and the sensor assembly detects any combination of sensed parameters.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensed parameters are a specific or general class of airborne chemicals.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one pair of RFID chips are electrically coupled to the second antenna by respective coupling capacitors.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one pair of chips are encoded with a unique identifier.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the interrogator communicates with the sensor assembly using an inventory scan.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein each RFID chip has a characteristic receive impedance Zr and characteristic backscatter impedance Zb.
7. A method of utilizing a RFID sensor assembly comprising:
providing a RFID sensor assembly having at least one pair of RFID chips, and a RFID interrogator wherein the interrogator includes a RFID reader and a first antenna with the at least one pair of RFID chips coupled to a second antenna such that the reader is configured to vary a power and frequency of a signal transmitted to the at least one pair of RFID chips;
transmitting signals to the RFID sensor assembly via the first antenna;
receiving the signals by the second antenna;
directing those signals to at least one the pair of RFID chips; and
determining a sensed parameter such that at least one RFID chip is configured to vary a coupling property in response to a sensed parameter.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising sending signals to the first antenna of the RFID interrogator.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the signals are encoded with a unique identifier.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the method further comprising interrogating the RFID reader and identifying each RFID chip according to their unique identifier.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one pair of RFID chips is coupled to a dipole antenna.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one pair are in electrical communication with first and second links.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first and second links are configured such that a conductivity of the links remains constant in response to a sensed parameter.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first and second links are forms of a material compound having substantially constant conductivity.
15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one pair of RFID chips includes at least one sensing RFID chip.
16. The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one pair of RFID chips includes at least one reference RFID chip.