Radio frequency identification device and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- an article to be transported;
a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag physically associated with the article to be transported, the RFID tag comprising a thin base layer having a mounting portion on one surface, one or more antennas disposed on the base layer, and a radio frequency transceiver integrated circuit disposed adjacent the mounting portion having a memory for storing data, wherein the RFID tag is of non-uniform thickness, including a first thickness at a first location on the RFID tag that includes the base layer and a second thickness, greater than the first thickness, at a second location that includes the mounting portion; and
an interrogation system configured to use RF signals to read, from the RFID tag, an identification code, wherein the identification code is to be associated with the article.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention teaches a method of manufacturing an enclosed transceiver, such as a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag. Structurally, in one embodiment, the tag comprises an integrated circuit (IC) chip, and an RF antenna mounted on a thin film substrate powered by a thin film battery. A variety of antenna geometries are compatible with the above tag construction. These include monopole antennas, dipole antennas, dual dipole antennas, a combination of dipole and loop antennas. Further, in another embodiment, the antennas are positioned either within the plane of the thin film battery or superjacent to the thin film battery.
354 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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an article to be transported; a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag physically associated with the article to be transported, the RFID tag comprising a thin base layer having a mounting portion on one surface, one or more antennas disposed on the base layer, and a radio frequency transceiver integrated circuit disposed adjacent the mounting portion having a memory for storing data, wherein the RFID tag is of non-uniform thickness, including a first thickness at a first location on the RFID tag that includes the base layer and a second thickness, greater than the first thickness, at a second location that includes the mounting portion; and an interrogation system configured to use RF signals to read, from the RFID tag, an identification code, wherein the identification code is to be associated with the article. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system, comprising:
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an article for transportation having an RFID device physically associated thereto, the RFID device having a mounting portion on one surface, one or more antennas, and an integrated circuit disposed adjacent the mounting portion including a memory for storing data associated with the article, wherein the RFID device has a first thickness through at least one location on the RFID device and a second greater thickness in the mounting portion; and an interrogation system, at a shipment origin, to transmit to the RFID device a radio frequency interrogation message requesting the data, and to receive from the RFID device, responsive to the interrogation message, the data retrieved from the memory and communicated from the RFID device, wherein the data identifies a shipment destination of the article. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system for transporting articles, comprising;
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an interrogation unit located at a shipment origin, the interrogation unit configured to transmit in remote proximity of an article, a radio frequency interrogation message requesting data associated with the article, the article comprising an RFID tag which further comprises a base layer having a mounting portion on one surface, one or more antennas disposed on the base layer, a transceiver integrated circuit disposed adjacent the mounting portion having a memory for storing data, and electrical connections coupling the transceiver integrated circuit to the one or more antennas, wherein the RFID tag comprises a first thickness along an edge of the RFID tag and a greater thickness in the mounting portion; and the interrogation unit configured to receive from the RFID tag a signal containing data retrieved from the memory, wherein the interrogation unit is further configured to interpret the data received to identify a shipment destination. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A system for transporting an article along an intended route, comprising:
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an interrogation unit operable to transmit to a label, physically associated with a first article, a radio frequency interrogation message requesting data associated with the first article, the label comprising a base layer having a thickness within a range of one to five mils and a mounting portion on one surface, one or more antennas disposed on the base layer, and an integrated circuit disposed adjacent the mounting portion having memory storing data associated with the first article, wherein the label thickness is greatest proximate the mounting portion; and the interrogation unit further operable to receive from the label, a signal containing the data retrieved from the memory, wherein the first article is to be handled based at least in part on the data received from the label. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A system comprising:
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a unit to transmit a radio frequency signal to an RFID tag physically associated with an article to be shipped, the RFID tag comprising a thin flexible layer having a mounting portion on one surface, one or more antennas disposed on the flexible layer, and a radio frequency transceiver integrated circuit disposed adjacent the mounting portion having a memory storing data associated with the article, wherein the RFID tag is non-uniform in thickness, having a thinnest portion in a peripheral region of the RFID tag and a greatest thickness proximate the mounting portion, wherein the radio frequency signal to be transmitted to the RFID tag is to include the data to be stored in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification