Radio frequency identification tag based tray and tray receiving method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A apparatus comprising:
- a tray comprised, at least in part, of electrically conductive material;
at least one hand-graspable fixture affixed to the tray wherein the hand-graspable fixture comprises, at least in part, an electrical conductor that is disposed in a location to be operably interacted with by a human who grasps the hand-graspable fixture;
a capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag disposed on the hand-graspable fixture and having a first antenna plate that is electrically coupled to the tray and a second antenna plate that is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tray (201) comprises electrically conductive material and has at least one hand-graspable fixture (203). This hand-graspable fixture comprises an electrical conductor (301) disposed in a location that is likely to be operably interacted with by a human who grasps the hand-graspable fixture. A capacitively-coupled RFID tag is then disposed on the hand-graspable fixture with a first antenna plate (303) being electrically coupled to the tray and a second antenna plate (304) that electrically couples to the electrical conductor. A corresponding tray receiving compartment (400) has a front lip (401) over which the tray must pass and upon which the tray will rest when properly disposed within the tray receiving compartment. One or more capacitively-coupled RFID tag reader antennas (402) are disposed proximal to the front lip. These antennas may be positioned to facilitate reading the capacitively-coupled RFID tag when the tray is properly disposed within the tray receiving compartment.
17 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A apparatus comprising:
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a tray comprised, at least in part, of electrically conductive material; at least one hand-graspable fixture affixed to the tray wherein the hand-graspable fixture comprises, at least in part, an electrical conductor that is disposed in a location to be operably interacted with by a human who grasps the hand-graspable fixture; a capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag disposed on the hand-graspable fixture and having a first antenna plate that is electrically coupled to the tray and a second antenna plate that is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus comprising:
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a tray receiving compartment having a front lip over which the tray must pass when inserted;
the front lip comprises at least one exposed electrical conductor that is electrically coupled to a corresponding one of at least one capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag reader antenna, such that a tray which is only partially inserted at rest within the tray receiving compartment will complete an electrical circuit path between the at least one exposed electrical conductor and a grounded electrically conductive surface to thereby facilitate detecting incomplete insertion of the tray within the tray receiving compartment;at least one capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag reader antenna disposed proximal to the front lip and being positioned to facilitate reading a capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag as comprises a part of the tray when the tray is properly disposed within the tray receiving compartment. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method comprising:
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providing a tray comprised, at least in part, of; electrically conductive material; at least one hand-graspable fixture wherein the hand-graspable fixture comprises, at least in part, an electrical conductor that is disposed in a location to be operably interacted with by a human who grasps the hand-graspable fixture; a capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag disposed on the hand-graspable fixture and having a first antenna plate that is electrically coupled to the electrically conductive material and a second antenna plate that is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor; providing a tray receiving compartment having a front lip over which the tray must pass when inserted; providing at least one capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag reader antenna disposed proximal to the front lip and being positioned to facilitate reading the capacitively-coupled radio frequency identification tag when the tray is properly disposed within the tray receiving compartment. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification