RFID BRIDGE ANTENNA

• US 20110205058A1
• Filed: 05/04/2011
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Bell, Scott J., Rommelmann, Heiko, Rodriguez, Alberto, Phipps, William
• Granted Patent: US 9,189,727 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.7
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• 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 7/10178 including auxiliary means for focusing, repeating or boosting the electromagnetic interrogation field comparable booster antennas integrated on the record carrier itself G06K19/07794

Abstract

A package for at least two objects includes RFID bridge antennas, having RF antenna elements, for wirelessly communicating data between a tag associated with each object and a reader. An electromagnetic carrier signal transmitted by the reader antenna is received by one of the RF antenna element and retransmitted to the tag antenna by the other RF antenna element, increasing the distance over which the tag can communicate with the reader. Where the tag is attached to a packaged object, the RFID bridge antenna may be included in the package to allow wireless data communication between the tag and a reader. The reader may also be located external to the package. For example, one of the RF antenna elements may be attached to a label on the package, allowing data stored in the tag to be extracted by the external reader.

Claims

1. A machine comprising, in combination:

at least a first module and a second module for operating said machine, each said module including a tag associated therewith, the tag including a tag antenna coupled to an integrated circuit device having data related to said module, the tag being configured to superimpose the data from the integrated circuit device onto an electromagnetic carrier signal generated by a reader having a reader antenna; and

a first RFID bridge antenna and a separate second RFID bridge antenna associated with the first module and the second module respectively, each said RFID bridge antenna including two RF antenna elements coupled together by a conductor, one of the RF antenna elements in each said RFID bridge antenna being located proximate to said tag antenna of its respective module and the other RF antenna element in each said RFID bridge antenna being located proximate to said reader antenna, thereby

increasing the distance over which the tag of each said module can communicate with the reader and

permitting communication between the first module and the second module via the reader antenna,

and wherein said RF antenna elements of the RFID bridge antenna associated with each respective module are tuned to a resonate frequency by at least one of stray capacitance in the antenna and capacitance associated with a charge storage element electrically coupled to the antenna, so that said RF antenna elements resonate at substantially the same frequency, a first RF antenna element proximate to the reader antenna is tuned to approximately the same resonate frequency as the reader antenna, and a second RF antenna element proximate to the tag antenna of said module is tuned to approximately the same resonate frequency as the tag antenna, and

said conductor comprises a balanced transmission line having a load impedance and a characteristic impedance, the load impedance and the characteristic impedance being substantially equal.

2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is a printing apparatus and wherein the module includes printing hardware.

3. The machine of claim 2, wherein the module is one of:

a marking material supply module and a marking device module.

4. The machine of claim 3, wherein the marking material supply module includes at least one of:

toner, liquid ink, solid ink, oil, and cleaning fluid.

5. The machine of claim 3, wherein the marking device module includes at least one of:

an image receptor, a fusing device, and a printhead.

6. The machine of claim 4, wherein the module is contained in a package and wherein the RFID bridge antenna is attached to said package.