{
  "patent_number": "US 3713148",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags Were Invented",
  "original_title": "Transponder apparatus and system",
  "summary": "A 1970 patent describing a remote tag that powers itself using incoming radio signals to read and write data, forming the foundation of modern RFID technology.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a transponder that acts as a remote data storage device. It uses an incoming signal from a base station to wake up, power its internal circuits, and either read or write data to its memory. Once the data is processed, the device sends an answerback signal back to the base station. By harvesting energy directly from the interrogation signal, the device eliminates the need for an internal battery, making it entirely self-contained.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover active transponders that rely on internal batteries for their primary power source.",
    "Does not cover systems where the base station does not provide the energy for the transponder's operation.",
    "Does not cover non-electronic storage methods that do not involve a memory means capable of being written to or read from via signal processing."
  ],
  "filed": "1970-05-21",
  "granted": "1973-01-23",
  "expires": "1990-05-21",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Communications Services Corp Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/communications-services-corp-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "M Cardullo",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/m-cardullo"
    },
    {
      "name": "W Parks",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/w-parks"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 185,
  "tags": [
    "telecommunications",
    "semiconductors",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": "A novel transponder apparatus and system is disclosed, the system being of the general type wherein a base station transmits an ''''interrogation'''' signal to a remote transponder, the transponder responding with an ''''answerback'''' transmission. The transponder includes a changeable or writable memory, and means responsive to the transmitted interrogation signal for processing the signal and for selectively writing data into or reading data out from the memory. The transponder then transmits an answerback signal from the data read-out from its internal memory, which signal may be interpreted at the base station. In the preferred inventive embodiment, the transponder generates its own operating power from the transmitted interrogation signal, such that the transponder apparatus is self-contained.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3713148/rfid-transponder-cardullo",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3713148/rfid-transponder-cardullo/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US3713148",
  "relatedPatents": [
    {
      "patentNumber": "3906166",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How Early Cell Phones Handled Calls Across Different Towers",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3906166/cellular-mobile-phone-radio-telephone"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "3102230",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "The Invention of the Modern Field-Effect Transistor",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3102230/mosfet-field-effect-transistor"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "586193",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How Marconi Patented Early Wireless Telegraphy Signals",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/586193/radio-wireless-marconi"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "4200770",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How to Create a Secret Code Key Without Meeting First",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4200770/diffie-hellman-public-key-exchange"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "7577616",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How Mobile Phones Can Securely Authorize Payments Using Random ID Codes",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7577616/method-and-apparatus-of-secure-authentication-and-electronic-payment-through-mobile-communication-tool"
    }
  ]
}