RFID material tracking method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A nesting station for use in an RFID tracking system, the nesting station comprising:
- a vacuum formed top;
a circuit board laying in a notch of the vacuum formed top;
a jack for antenna connection attached to the circuit board;
an antenna coil electrically connected to the circuit board and jack, positioned in a notch of the vacuum formed top;
a vacuum formed bottom;
a metallic plate attached to the vacuum formed bottom; and
foam filler placed between the vacuum formed top and bottom.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for tracking items automatically is described. A passive RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag is used with a material tracking system capable of real-time pinpoint location and identification of thousands of items in production and storage areas. Passive RFID tags are attached to the item to be tracked, remote sensing antennas are placed at each remote location to be monitored, interrogators with several antenna inputs are connected to the sensing antennas to multiplex the antenna signals, and a host computer communicates with the interrogators to determine item locations to an exacting measure.
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Citations
74 Claims
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1. A nesting station for use in an RFID tracking system, the nesting station comprising:
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a vacuum formed top;
a circuit board laying in a notch of the vacuum formed top;
a jack for antenna connection attached to the circuit board;
an antenna coil electrically connected to the circuit board and jack, positioned in a notch of the vacuum formed top;
a vacuum formed bottom;
a metallic plate attached to the vacuum formed bottom; and
foam filler placed between the vacuum formed top and bottom. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A nesting station for use in an RFID tracking system, the nesting station comprising:
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a vacuum formed top;
a circuit board laying in a first notch of the vacuum formed top, the circuit board containing a capacitor;
a single layer flat coil electrically connected to the capacitor, the single layer flat coil positioned in a second notch of the vacuum formed top;
a vacuum formed bottom;
a metallic plate attached to the vacuum formed bottom; and
foam filler placed between the vacuum formed top and bottom. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A nesting station for use in an RFID tracking system, the nesting station comprising:
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a substantially flat structure having a top and a bottom;
a circuit board imbedded in the substantially flat structure;
an antenna electrically connected to the circuit board, the antenna imbedded in the substantially flat structure; and
a metallic plate imbedded in the substantially flat structure between the antenna and the bottom of the substantially flat structure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A nesting station for use in an RFID tracking system, the nesting station comprising:
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a plastic molding with molded ridges;
a circuit board laying in a first notch of a top of the plastic molding;
an antenna coil electrically connected to the circuit board, the antenna coil positioned in a second notch of the top of the plastic molding;
a metallic plate attached to an inner bottom of the plastic molding;
foam filler placed within the plastic molding; and
a covering closing the molding. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A nesting station for use in an RFID tracking system, the nesting station comprising:
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a plastic molding with molded ridges;
a circuit board laying in a first notch of a top of the plastic molding;
an antenna including a substantially circular core, the core having an annular ring protruding substantially perpendicular to the plane of the core and having a substantially centered core post extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the core with a coil wound around the post between the post and the annular ring, the antenna electrically connected to the circuit board and positioned in a second notch of the top of the plastic molding; and
a metallic plate attached to an inner bottom of the plastic molding. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An array of nesting stations for use in an RFID tracking system, the array of nesting stations comprising:
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a substantially flat first structure having a top and a bottom;
a first circuit board imbedded in the substantially flat first structure;
a first antenna electrically connected to the first circuit board, the first antenna imbedded in the substantially flat first structure;
a metallic first plate imbedded in the substantially flat first structure between the first antenna and the bottom of the substantially flat first structure;
.a substantially flat second structure having a top and a bottom;
a second circuit board imbedded in the substantially flat second structure;
a second antenna electrically connected to the second circuit board, the second antenna imbedded in the substantially flat second structure; and
a metallic second plate imbedded in the substantially flat second structure between the second antenna and the bottom of the substantially flat second structure, wherein the substantially flat first structure abuts the substantially flat second structure. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. An array of nesting stations for use in an RFID tracking system, the array of nesting stations comprising:
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a first plastic molding with molded ridges;
a first circuit board laying in a first notch of a top of the first plastic molding, the first circuit board containing a first capacitor;
a first single layer flat coil electrically connected to the first capacitor, the first flat coil positioned in a second notch of the top of the first plastic molding;
a first metallic plate attached to an inner bottom of the first plastic molding;
a first foam filler placed within the plastic molding;
a second plastic molding with molded ridges;
a second circuit board laying in a first notch of a top of the second plastic molding, the second circuit board containing a second capacitor;
a second single layer flat coil electrically connected to the second capacitor, the second flat coil positioned in a second notch of the top of the second plastic molding;
a second metallic plate attached to an inner bottom of the second plastic molding; and
a second foam filler placed within the plastic molding, wherein the first plastic molding abuts the second plastic molding. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 73)
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67. An array of nesting stations for use in an RFID tracking system, the array of nesting stations comprising:
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a first plastic molding with molded ridges;
a first circuit board laying in a first notch of a top of the first plastic molding, the first circuit board containing a first capacitor;
a first antenna having a single layer flat coil electrically connected to the first capacitor, the first antenna positioned in a second notch of the top of the first plastic molding;
a first metallic plate attached to an inner bottom of the first plastic molding;
a first foam filler placed within the plastic molding; and
a second plastic molding with molded ridges;
a second circuit board laying in a first notch of a top of the second plastic molding;
a second antenna including a substantially circular core, the core having an annular ring protruding substantially perpendicular to the plane of the core and having a substantially centered core post extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the core with a second coil wound around the post between the post and the annular ring, the second antenna electrically connected to the second circuit board and positioned in a second notch of the top of the second plastic molding;
a second metallic plate attached to an inner bottom of the second plastic molding;
a second foam filler placed within the plastic molding, wherein the first plastic molding abuts the second plastic molding. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74)
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Specification