User Manual

2.2 Product Description
The i-CARD is a PC Card type RFID device for communicating with
the i-Q series of active tags. It will plug into PCMCIA slots of
portable devices like handheld scanners, etc. It must be powered by a
5V source, capable of supplying 150mA.
The i-CARD is configurable via firmware to provide application
developers with both a PCMCIA, as well as a serial interface for
advanced automatic data capture applications using ILR technology.
The operating system in the hosting device can be Windows 98
®
,
Windows NT
®
or Windows CE
®
, providing the interface to the i-
CARD Application programs developed to run on the i-CARD use
calls to the IDENTEC i-PORT software library to access the RF
functions on the i-CARD.
The i-CARD enclosure is a PC Card type II tin can. Three status
LEDs can be viewed from the front edge; they are Carrier Detect
(green), Transmit (red) and Receive (green). The front also hosts the
MMCX 50Ù coax RF connector for the antenna.
In addition, the front edge holds a 15-pin PC Card I/O connector for
serial (RS-232) access and card programming.
The i-CARD contains a Configurable Processor System Unit (CPSU)
with internal non-volatile memory. The CPSU chip is programmed
by IDENTEC and contains the firmware code.
The i-CARD contains the RF circuitry for the wireless
communication with IDENTEC tags. The application software
running on the i-PORT, or other host computer, sends commands to
the CPSU to communicate with the tags. The CPSU on the i-CARD
controls all functions of the board. The normal mode (power-up and
standby) of the i-CARD is ‘Receive Mode’, as opposed to the time-
limited ‘Transmit Mode’, which has to be initiated by the controlling
host computer.
Note: The i-CARD used in the i-PORT is in a PC Card Type II housing
but it is not configured with a PCMCIA interface. The i-CARD in the i-
PORT has a serial interface and can only be used in the assigned card
slot on the i-PORT.
i-CARDs with PCMCIA interface code are suitable for any other
standard portable equipment.
Each i-CARD is marked with an interface type, either PCMCIA or
serial. Do not use an i-CARD with a PCMCIA interface in the i-PORT.
Vice versa, do not use an i-CARD with a serial interface in any other
portable device with PCMCIA slot.