RFID printer and antennas

• US 20050280537A1
• Filed: 06/22/2004
• Published: 12/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC (Avery Dennison Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC (Avery Dennison Corporation)
• Inventors: Feltz, John F., Neuhard, Lance D., McCurdy, Jim A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,439,858 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0025 the arrangement consisting of a wireless interrogation device in combination with a device for optically marking the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil

Abstract

A shielded antenna system is provided for reading from and/or writing to an RFID transponder wherein the energy radiated from the antenna system has a narrow beam width so that only one RFID transponder in a record member along a web of record members, each having an RFID transponder, is read from and/or written to without affecting or being affected by any other RFID transponder along the web.

Claims

1. A printer for printing on a web of record members having RFID transponders disposed at spaced locations along the length of the web, comprising:

a print head capable of printing on the web, a read and/or write antenna disposed upstream of the print head, a shield disposed downstream of the print head to prevent the antenna assembly from affecting or being affected by any RFID transponder at a location downstream of the shield.

2. A printer as defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna is a microstrip antenna.

3. A printer as defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna is a loop antenna.

4. A printer as defined in claim 1, a web guide upstream of the platen roll, a platen roll cooperable with the print head, wherein the antenna is disposed between the web guide and the platen roll.

5. A printer as defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna is mounted on the shield.

6. A printer as defined in claim 1, including a delaminator at which RFID labels are delaminated one-by-one from a web, wherein the delaminator forms part of the shield, and wherein the shield includes a portion underlying the platen roll.

7. A printer as defined in claim 1, including a delaminator at which RFID labels are delaminated one-by-one from a web, wherein the delaminator forms part of the shield, wherein the shield includes a first downwardly extending portion electrically connected to the delaminator, an inclined portion joined to the downwardly extending portion and underlying the platen roll, a second downwardly extending portion joined to the inclined portion, and a base portion joined to the second downwardly extending portion and underlying the inclined portion.

8. A printer as defined in claim 1, a platen roll cooperable with the print head, wherein part of the shield underlies the platen roll, wherein RFID labels releasably adhered to a carrier web are advanced to between the print head and the platen roll, a delaminator disposed downstream of the print head, a pair of cooperating rolls disposed downstream of the delaminator to advance the carrier web, a electric motor drivingly coupled to at least one of the rolls, and the electric motor being disposed below the part of the shield that underlies the platen roll.

9. A printer as defined in claim 1, including another shield for the antenna to direct RF energy so that only one RFID transporter at a time is written to and/or read.

10. A printer as defined in claim 9, a platen roll cooperable with the print head, and wherein the platen roll has a conductive shaft and elastomeric material received about the shaft.

11. A printer as defined in claim 9, wherein the antenna is a microstrip antenna, and the other shield comprises an enclosure with an opening, wherein the antenna is disposed in the enclosure spaced from the opening, and wherein the opening is between the antenna and the transponder which is to be written to and/or read.

12. A printer as defined in claim 1, including a guide for the printed record members, wherein the guide forms part of the shield.

13. A printer for printing on a web of record members having RFID transponders disposed at spaced locations along the length of the web, comprising:

a print head capable of printing on the web, a read and/or write antenna assembly including an antenna and a conductive shield for the antenna, and the shield having an opening adjacent the web of record members so that the field of the antenna is directed to one of the transponders at a time.

14. A printer as defined in claim 13, including another shield downstream of the print head.

15. A printer as defined in claim 13, wherein the antenna is a microstrip antenna.

16. A printer as defined in claim 13, a platen roll cooperable with the print head, a web guide upstream of the platen roll, and wherein the antenna is disposed between the web guide and the platen roll.

17. A printer for printing on a composite label web of record members having RFID transponders disposed at spaced locations along the length of the web, the web including a carrier web and labels releasably adhered to the carrier web, comprising:

a thermal print head, a platen roll cooperable with the print head, an antenna disposed upstream of the print head, the printer having space in which a roll form of the composite web can be supported and from which the web can pass by the antenna before passing between the print head and platen roll and beyond, a delaminator downstream of the platen roll at which labels are delaminated from the carrier web, a shield including the delaminator to prevent the antenna from affecting or being affected by any RFID transponder at a location downstream of the delaminator.

18. A printer as defined in claim 17, wherein the antenna is mounted on the shield.

19. A printer for printing on a web having RFID transponders disposed at spaced locations along the length of the web, comprising:

a print head capable of printing on a web, and an antenna assembly including a read and/or write microstrip antenna for RFID transponders and an RF shield to direct RF energy so that only one RFID transponder at a time is written to and/or read.

20. In combination:

a printer and an antenna assembly in the printer including a read and/or write microstrip antenna for RFID transponders, the antenna assembly further including an RF shield to limit the energy to or from the antenna with respect to one and only one RFID transponder at a time in a web of longitudinally spaced RFID transponders.

21. The combination as defined in claim 20, wherein the antenna and RF shield are electrically connected.

22. An antenna assembly, comprising:

a microstrip antenna for reading and/or writing to RFID transponders, and an RF shield to direct RF energy so that only one RFID transponder in a web of longitudinally spaced RFID transponders can be read and/or written to at any one time.

23. An antenna assembly as defined in claim 22, wherein the antenna and the RF shield are electrically connected.

24. An antenna assembly, comprising:

a microstrip antenna for reading and/or writing to RFID transponders, and an RF shield to limit the read and/or write energy to or from the antenna to one and only one RFID transponder at a time.

25. An antenna assembly as defined in claim 24, wherein the antenna and the RF shield are electrically connected.

26. An antenna for use in a system that writes to and/or reads an RFID transponder on a record member, comprising:

a sripline antenna that provides energy to write to and/or read RFID transponders; and

a conductive enclosure having contiguous side walls and at least one opening, the antenna being supported in the enclosure such that the energy radiated from the enclosed antenna is sufficient to write to an RFID transponder in a record member aligned with the opening of the enclosure, and the side walls of the enclosure blocking a portion of the radiated energy from a record member adjacent to the aligned record member.

27. An antenna for use in a system that writes to and/or reads an RFID transponder in a record member as defined in claim 26, wherein the enclosure has a conductive back wall and the antenna is positioned between the back wall and the opening of the enclosure.

28. An antenna as defined in claim 26, wherein the energy from the antenna is insufficient to write to a record member adjacent to the record member aligned with the antenna enclosure opening where each record member is carried on a web, the record members can be as short as about two inches or less.

29. An antenna as defined in claim 26, wherein the antenna is formed on a non-conductive substrate having a peripheral edge, and wherein the antenna terminates short of the peripheral edge.

30. An antenna as defined in claim 26, wherein the antenna includes a microstrip element formed on a first surface of a non-conducting substrate, and the antenna further includes a ground plane formed on a second surface of the substrate opposite the first surface, and the surface area of the ground plane being greater than the surface area of the microstrip element.

31. An antenna as defined in claim 30, wherein the ground plane is disposed beneath the microstrip element.

32. An antenna for use in a system that writes to and/or reads an RFID transponder in a record member, comprising:

a microstrip antenna to radiate energy to write to and/or read an RFID transponder;

a conductive enclosure having side walls and at least one opening, the antenna being supported in the enclosure such that the side walls extend beyond a plane of the antenna towards the opening, the energy radiated from the enclosed antenna being sufficient to write to and/or read one and only one RFID transponder in a record member aligned with the opening of the enclosure.

33. An antenna as defined in claim 32, wherein the enclosure has a conductive back wall and the antenna is positioned between the back wall and the opening of the enclosure.

34. An antenna as defined in claim 32, wherein the energy from the antenna is insufficient to write to and/or read a record member adjacent to the record member aligned with the antenna enclosure opening where each record member is carried on a web, the record members can be as short as about two inches or less.

35. An antenna for use in a system that writes to and/or reads an RFID record member formed in a web of RFID record members, each RFID record member containing an RFID transponder, the antenna, comprising:

a microstrip antenna that radiates energy to write to and/or read an RFID transponder in a record member; and

a conductive enclosure having side walls, at least one opening and a wall opposite the opening, the antenna being supported in the enclosure so that the side walls extend beyond a plane of the antenna towards the opening of the enclosure and the antenna radiates sufficient energy to write to and/or read an RFID transponder in a record member aligned with the opening of the enclosure.

36. An antenna as defined in claim 35, wherein the record members can be as short as about two inches in length or less.

37. An antenna, as defined in claim 35, wherein the antenna includes a non-conductive substrate having a boundry, wherein a conductive area on one side of the substrate forms a driven element of the antenna and a conductive area on the other side of the substrate forms a ground plane, and wherein the driven element and the ground plane extend short of the boundry.

38. An antenna for use in a system that writes to and/or reads an RFID record member in a web of RFID record members, each RFID record member containing an RFID transponder, the antenna comprising:

a microstrip antenna that radiates energy to write and/or read an RFID transponder in a record member, a conductive enclosure having at least one opening, the antenna being supported in the enclosure spaced from the opening, wherein the antenna radiates sufficient energy to write to and/or read an RFID transponder in a record member aligned with the opening.

39. An antenna as defined in claim 38, wherein the record members can be as short as about two inches in length or less.

40. An antenna as defined in claim 38, wherein a portion of the energy of the antenna is blocked by the enclosure so that the energy reaching a transponder of an adjacent record member not aligned with the opening is insufficient to write to and/or read the transponder on the adjacent RFID record member.

41. An antenna as defined in claim 38 in combination with a hand-held device.

42. A system for writing to and/or reading an RFID transponder in a record member formed in a web of record members without affecting the RFID transponder in an adjacent, downstream record member, comprising:

an antenna radiating energy to write to and/or read from an RFID transponder in a record member;

a shield having a first portion supporting the antenna so that the antenna is generally parallel to a record member to be written to and/or read and the shield having a second portion extending at an angle from the first portion towards the web so that at least a part of the second portion is adjacent the web to shield an RFID transponder in a record member downstream of the part from energy radiating from the antenna.

43. A system as defined in claim 42, wherein part of the shield adjacent the web forms a guide for the web.

44. A system as defined in claim 42, wherein part of the shield adjacent the web forms a delaminator.

45. A system as defined in claim 42, including another shield comprising a conductive enclosure with an opening facing a record member to be written to and/or read.

46. A system as defined in claim 45, wherein the antenna comprising a microstrip antenna supported in the enclosure such that the enclosure extends beyond a plane of the antenna towards the enclosure opening.

47. A system as defined in claim 46, wherein the antenna includes a driven element formed on a first surface of a non-conducting substrate, the width of the substrate being greater than the width of the antenna, wherein the antenna further includes a ground plane, wherein the driven element is connected to the ground plane formed on a second surface of the substrate opposite the first surface, and the surface area of the ground plane being greater than the surface area of the driven element.

48. A system as defined in claim 46, wherein the enclosure has a conductive back wall and the antenna is positioned between the back wall and the opening.

49. A system as defined in claim 42, wherein the antenna is a loop antenna including a substrate and a non-conductive holder for the antenna.

50. A system as defined in claim 49, wherein the non-conductive holder is spaced from the antenna.

51. A printer for printing on a web of record members having RFID transponders deposed at spaced locations along the length of the web, comprising:

a print head capable of printing on a web, a read and/or write loop antenna disposed upstream of the print head, wherein the loop antenna is in a generally rectangular configuration with the long dimension extending laterally of the web, the antenna being generally planar with spaced end edges along the long dimensions, the printer having space for a web supply roll, the antenna being positioned so that the transponders pass into and out of alignment with one end edge of the antenna as the web passes from the supply roll to the print head.

52. In combination:

an antenna that radiates energy to write to and/or read an RFID transponder, a conductive enclosure having an opening, a microstrip antenna being disposed in the enclosure in spaced relationship to the opening, and the enclosure blocking a portion of the radiated energy of the antenna.

53. The combination defined in claim 52 embodied in a hand-held device.