US 12,445,169 B2
Ambient electromagnetic power harvesting device for collecting and forwarding data
Mark R. Bales, Lee's Summit, MO (US); Lyle Bertz, Lee's Summit, MO (US); Robert Keith Butler, Overland Park, KS (US); and Lyle W. Paczkowski, Mission Hills, KS (US)
Assigned to T-Mobile Innovations LLC, Overland Park, KS (US)
Filed by T-Mobile Innovations LLC, Overland Park, KS (US)
Filed on May 30, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/325,936.
Prior Publication US 2024/0405803 A1, Dec. 5, 2024
Int. Cl. H04B 5/77 (2024.01)
CPC H04B 5/77 (2024.01) 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A collector ambient electromagnetic power harvesting (AEPH)
device for collecting and forwarding data, the device comprising:
an antenna;
an AEPH circuit coupled to the antenna and configured to receive radio frequency (RF) energy collected by the antenna and convert the RF energy into electrical power;
a memory configured to receive electrical power from the AEPH circuit; and
a controller coupled to the memory and configured to receive electrical power from the AEPH circuit,
wherein the controller is configured to:
receive first information from a first reporter AEPH device, the first information comprising first data and an identifier (ID) of the first reporter AEPH device, the first information received via the antenna in a first RF signal;
store in the memory the first data with an association to the first reporter AEPH device ID;
receive second information from a second reporter AEPH device, the second information comprising second data and an ID of the second reporter AEPH device, the information received via the antenna in a second RF signal;
store the second data in the memory with an association to the second reporter AEPH device ID;
store in the memory a data association between the first data and the second data;
receive an interrogation signal via the antenna in a third RF signal; and
in response to the interrogation signal, transmit a response via the antenna, the response comprising:
the first reporter AEPH device ID and any data in the memory associated with the first reporter AEPH device ID;
the second reporter AEPH device ID and any data in the memory associated with the second reporter AEPH device ID; and
any data associations stored in the memory, where the associations are between data stored in the memory and associated with the first reporter AEPH device ID and data stored in the memory and associated with the second reporter AEPH device ID.