MASKED CONTAINER RFID TAG COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

• US 20140015641A1
• Filed: 07/16/2012
• Published: 01/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: White, Christopher J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,922,346 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0715 the arrangement including means to regulate power transfer to the integrated circuit
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10158 methods and means used by the interrogation device for reliably powering the wireless record carriers using an electromagnetic interrogation field
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10168 the powering being adversely affected by environmental influences, e.g. unwanted energy loss in the interrogation signal due to metallic or capacitive objects in the proximity of the interrogation device or in the proximity of the interrogated record carrier

Abstract

A container group includes a plurality of containers arranged in three dimensions. A power signal is transmitted to a first subset of the containers facing a power antenna. A data signal is transmitted to a second subset of the containers facing a link antenna. The power and link antennas face non-parallel sides of the container. The containers pass power back from the first subset. The power transmitted to each container runs an RFID repeater that passes data back from the second subset. In the container group is a masked container with an RFID tag that communicates with the RFID repeater on the next container closer to the link antenna.

Claims

1. An RFID system for communicating with a masked-container RFID tag in a container group, the system comprising:

a) an RFID reader spaced apart from the container group; and

b) the container group including a outward container and a masked container having the masked-container RFID tag, the container group and reader arranged so that the outward container attenuates communications propagating along a line between the RFID reader and the masked-container RFID tag;

c) wherein the outward container includes an upstream antenna, an RFID repeater having an energy-supply unit that provides energy to the RFID repeater, and a downstream antenna, and the masked container includes an upstream antenna arranged with respect to the downstream antenna of the outward container to wirelessly communicate therewith;

d) so that;

when the RFID repeater receives a downlink signal from the RFID reader via the upstream antenna of the outward container, the RFID repeater transmits a corresponding downlink signal via the downstream antenna of the outward container so that the masked-container RFID tag receives the corresponding downlink signal via the upstream antenna of the masked container; and

when the masked-container RFID tag transmits an uplink signal via the upstream antenna of the masked container, the RFID repeater receives the uplink signal via the downstream antenna of the outward container and transmits a corresponding uplink signal via the upstream antenna of the outward container so that the RFID reader receives the corresponding uplink signal.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the RFID repeater communicates via the upstream antenna and the downstream antenna of the outward container in respective, different frequency bands.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the energy-supply unit includes an RF-harvesting device that extracts energy from RF signals received via the downstream antenna or the upstream antenna and provides the extracted energy to the RFID repeater.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the energy-supply unit include an RF-harvesting device that extracts energy from RF signals in a different frequency band than the respective, different frequency bands.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the RF-harvesting device transmits via the downstream antenna some of the energy received via the upstream antenna, or transmits via the upstream antenna some of the energy received via the downstream antenna.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the energy-supply unit includes an RF-harvesting device that extracts energy from RF signals received via the downstream antenna or the upstream antenna and provides the extracted energy to the RFID repeater.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the downstream antenna of the outward container and the upstream antenna of the masked container include respective loops, and the RFID repeater and the masked-container RFID tag communicate using inductive coupling between those antennas.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the RFID repeater and the masked-container RFID tag communicate using RF signals at one or more frequencies less than 100 MHz.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the upstream and downstream antennas of the outward container are arranged on opposed sides of the outward container.

10. The system according to claim 1, further including a second outward container having an upstream antenna, an RFID repeater, and a downstream antenna, the container group arranged so that:

the second outward container receives a second downlink signal from the RFID reader via the upstream antenna of the second outward container and transmits the downlink signal to the RFID repeater of the outward container via the downstream antenna of the second outward container, and

the second outward container receives the corresponding uplink signal from the RFID repeater via the downstream antenna of the second outward container and transmits a second corresponding uplink signal to the RFID repeater via the upstream antenna of the second outward container.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the container group includes a plurality of containers, the plurality of containers including the masked container and the outward container;

each container in the plurality of containers includes a respective upstream antenna on or in an upstream face of the container and a respective downstream antenna on or in a downstream face of the container; and

the containers in the plurality of containers are arranged in the container group so that the respective upstream faces of each container in the plurality of containers are oriented substantially the same, and the respective downstream faces of each container in the plurality of containers are oriented substantially the same.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the RFID reader includes an antenna arranged to communicate through free space between the antenna and the container group with the respective upstream faces of a selected group of at least one, but less than all, of the containers in the plurality of containers, and the upstream faces of the containers in the selected group are adjacent to the free space.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein:

each container includes a respective upstream power antenna on or in a respective upstream power face of the container and a respective downstream power antenna on or in a respective downstream power face of the container opposite the respective upstream face of the container;

each energy-supply unit further includes a respective RF-harvesting device that extracts energy from RF signals received via the downstream power antenna or the upstream power antenna and provides the extracted energy to the RFID repeater; and

the respective upstream and downstream power antennas, or the respective RF-harvesting devices, are arranged so that at least some of the energy received via the upstream antenna is transmitted via the downstream antenna; and

the respective upstream power face of each container is substantially orthogonal to the upstream face of that container.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein each RFID repeater transmits or receives signals in a link frequency band and the RF-harvesting device extracts energy from RF signals in a power frequency band different from the link frequency band.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein each container includes a respective set of six faces, each set including top, bottom, left, right, front, and back faces, and, for each container, the upstream face is the front face, the downstream face is the back face, the upstream power face is the left face, and the downstream power face is the right face.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the upstream antenna, RFID repeater, and downstream antenna are connected via the top face or bottom face, and the upstream power antenna and downstream power antenna are correspondingly connected via the bottom face or top face.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein each RFID repeater transmits or receives signals in a link frequency band and the RF-harvesting device extracts energy from RF signals in the link frequency band.

18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the RFID reader includes a link antenna and a power antenna, each arranged with respect to the container group so that:

the RFID reader communicates using the link antenna through free space between the link antenna and the container group with the respective upstream faces of a first selected group of at least one, but less than all, of the containers in the plurality of containers, and the upstream faces of the containers in the first selected group are adjacent to the free space; and

the RFID reader transmits using the power antenna through free space between the power antenna and the container group with the respective upstream power faces of a second selected group of at least one, but less than all, of the containers in the plurality of containers, and the upstream faces of the containers in the second selected group are adjacent to the free space.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein each RFID repeater transmits or receives signals in a link frequency band and the RF-harvesting device extracts energy from RF signals in the link frequency band.

20. The system according to claim 1, wherein each container includes sides having respective lumens, and each respective RFID repeater is arranged in the lumen(s) of one or more side(s) of the corresponding container.

21. In an RFID system including an RFID reader and a container group including a plurality of containers arranged in three dimensions, the improvement comprising:

the RFID reader including a power-supply antenna and a link antenna, each spaced apart from the container group, the plurality of containers including one or more power-supply containers facing the power-supply antenna and one or more data containers facing the link antenna;

the RFID reader adapted to transmit a power-supply RF signal via the power-supply antenna to a the power-supply containers and to transmit a data RF signal via the link antenna to a the data containers while transmitting the power-supply RF signal;

each of the plurality of containers including a power-supply relay and a data relay, each relay including an upstream antenna arranged on a side of the container facing the corresponding antenna of the RFID reader and a downstream antenna arranged on a side of the container facing away from the corresponding antenna of the RFID reader;

the containers arranged so that the upstream power-supply antenna of each container other than the power-supply containers is adjacent to the downstream power-supply antenna of another of the containers, and the upstream data antenna of each container other than the data containers is adjacent to the downstream data antenna of another of the containers;

each power-supply relay adapted to receive RF energy via its upstream antenna, transmit some of the received energy via its downstream antenna, and provide some of the received RF energy to the respective data relay;

each data relay adapted to relay RF energy between its upstream and downstream antennas using the RF energy received from the respective power-supply relay;

the container group further including a masked container including an RFID tag adapted to receive RF signals and transmit RF responses and an antenna coupled to the RFID tag, the masked container oriented so that the antenna thereof is adjacent to the downstream data antenna of one of the plurality of containers; and

so that the data RF signal from the RFID reader is retransmitted by at least one of the data containers to the RFID tag, and a response signal from the RFID tag is retransmitted by at least one of the data containers to the link antenna of the RFID reader.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein each data relay transmits or receives signals in a link frequency band and each power-supply relay extracts energy from RF signals in the link frequency band.

23. The system according to claim 21, wherein each container includes sides having respective lumens, and each respective data relay is arranged in the lumen(s) of one or more side(s) of the corresponding container.

24. The system according to claim 21, wherein each data relay transmits or receives signals in a link frequency band and each power relay extracts energy from RF signals in a power frequency band different from the link frequency band.

25. The system according to claim 21, wherein each container includes a respective set of six faces, each set including top, bottom, left, right, front, and back faces, and, for each container, the upstream data antenna is arranged on the front face, the downstream data antenna is arranged on the back face, the upstream power-supply antenna is arranged on the right face, and the downstream power-supply antenna is arranged on the left face.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the upstream data antenna, data relay, and downstream data antenna are connected via the top face or bottom face, and the upstream power-supply antenna and downstream power-supply antenna are correspondingly connected via the bottom face or top face.

27. The system according to claim 21, wherein at least one of the containers is arranged to transmit RF energy or the data RF signal to more than one container downstream of it.

28. The system according to claim 21, wherein at least one of the containers is arranged to receive RF energy or the data RF signal from more than one container upstream of it.