RF conduit and systems implementing same

• US 8,115,688 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zest Labs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intelleflex Corporation
• Inventors: Farrell, Edward M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, HOANGANH T
• Application Number:
  US12/258,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20100103071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700.MS, 343/702, 343/850, 343/853, 343/873
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/47 using RFID associated with sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

An RF conduit according to one embodiment includes a pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antenna. An RF conduit according to another embodiment includes a pair of antenna traces each having first and second end portions and a central portion extending between the first and second end portions, wherein the central portions are positioned relative to each other such that they form a transmission line for RF tunneling therealong between the first ends of the antenna traces and the second ends of the antenna traces and an RF signal received at the first ends is reradiated at the second ends. Additional systems and methods are presented.

Claims

1. A Radio Frequency (RF) conduit, comprising:

a pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antenna;

wherein the RF conduit is physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by one of the antennas positioned towards a first side of an RF absorbing material and reradiated by the other antenna positioned towards a second side of the RF absorbing material opposite the first side by about 8 dB to about 25 dB in a frequency range of 700 to 1100 megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal throuih the RF absorbintt material from the first side thereof to the second side thereof in absence of the RF conduit.

2. The RF conduit of claim 1, further comprising a chip coupled to the transmission line between the antennas, wherein the chip is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip.

3. The RF conduit of claim 1, with a proviso that no electronics are in electrical communication with the antennas.

4. The RF conduit of claim 1, further comprising a container suitable for storing a consumer product therein, wherein the antennas are coupled to the container, wherein the container is at least part of the RF absorbing material.

5. The RF conduit of claim 1, wherein the antennas extend across an area of RF attenuation.

6. The RF conduit of claim 1, further comprising a second pair of antennas coupled together by a second transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the second transmission line between the second pair of antennas and an RF signal received at the first ends of the second pair of antennas is reradiated at the second ends of the second pair of antennas.

7. The RF conduit of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the second transmission line coupled to the second pair of antennas is oriented at an angle of greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees relative to at least a portion of the transmission line coupled to the pair of antennas.

8. The RF conduit of claim 7, wherein the transmission line and the second transmission lines are electrically isolated from each other.

9. The RF conduit of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the second transmission line coupled to the second pair of antennas is oriented about perpendicular to at least a portion of the transmission line coupled to the pair of antennas.

10. The RF conduit of claim 1, wherein one of the antennas is a horizontally polarized antenna and the other of the antennas is a vertically polarized antenna.

11. A Radio Frequency (RF) conduit system, comprising:

a pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antenna; and

a container, wherein the antennas are embedded, at least in part, in the container,

wherein the antennas and transmission line are physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by one of the antennas positioned towards a first side of the container and reradiated by the other antenna positioned towards a second side of the container opposite the first side by about 8 dB to about 25 dB in a frequency range of 700 to 1100 megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal through the container from the first side thereof to the second side thereof in the absence of the antennas and transmission line.

12. The RF conduit system of claim 11, wherein the antennas extend towards two opposite ends of the container and arranged in the container so that an RF signal received at one antenna at an outside of the container is reradiated at the other antenna at an outside of the container.

13. A Radio Frequency (RF) conduit, comprising:

a first pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antenna; and

a second pair of antennas coupled together by a second transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the second transmission line between the second pair of antennas and an RF signal received at the first ends of the second pair of antennas is reradiated at the second ends of the second pair of antennas,

wherein at least a portion of the second transmission line coupled to the second pair of antennas is oriented at an angle of greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees relative to at least a portion of the transmission line coupled to the pair of antennas,

wherein the transmission line and the second transmission lines are physically coupled together such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission lines between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antennas,

wherein the RF conduit is physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by one of the antennas of the first pair positioned towards a first side of an RF absorbing material and reradiated by the other antenna of the first pair positioned towards a second side of the RF absorbing material opposite the first side by about 8 dB to about 25 dB in a frequency range of 700 to 1100 megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal through the RF absorbing material from the first side thereof to the second side thereof in absence of the RF conduit.

14. The RF conduit of claim 13, further comprising a chip in communication with the transmission line and/or the second transmission line.

15. A Radio Frequency (RF) conduit, comprising:

a pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antenna, wherein the antennas and transmission line are physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by one of the antennas positioned towards a first side of an RF absorbing material and reradiated by the other antenna positioned towards a second side of the RF absorbing material opposite the first side by about 8 dB to about 25 dB in a frequency range of 700 to 1100 megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal through the RF absorbing material from the first side thereof to the second side thereof in the absence of the antennas and transmission line;

a second pair of antennas coupled touether by a second transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the second transmission line between the second pair of antennas and an RF signal received at the first ends of the second pair of antennas is reradiated at the second ends of the second pair of antennas; and

a third pair of antennas and a third transmission line coupled to the third pair of antennas and a fourth pair of antennas and a fourth transmission line coupled to the fourth pair of antennas oriented with respect to the antennas, second antennas, transmission line and second transmission line so that both vertical and horizontal polarizations at one of the antennas is reradiated as the same polarizations by at least one of the other antennas.

16. A Radio Frequency (RF) conduit, comprising:

first and second antenna traces each having first and second end portions and a central portion extending between the first and second end portions,

wherein the central portions are positioned relative to each other such that they form a transmission line for RF tunneling therealong between the first end portions of the antenna traces and the second end portions of the antenna traces and an RF signal received at the first end portions is reradiated at the second end portions of the antenna traces,

wherein each central portion is at least 12 inches long,

wherein the RF conduit physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by the first end portion positioned towards a first side of an RF absorbing material and reradiated by the other antenna positioned towards a second side of the RF absorbing material opposite the first side by about 8 dB to about 25dB in a freauencv range of 700 to 1100 megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal through the RF absorbing material from the first side thereof to the second side thereof in the absence of the antennas and transmission line.

17. The RF conduit of claim 16, wherein the first end portions of the antenna traces are about the same length.

18. The RF conduit of claim 16, wherein the first end portions of the antenna traces have different lengths.

19. The RF conduit of claim 16, wherein the first end portions of the antenna traces have a total length of about one-half a wavelength of an RF signal tunneling along the central portions.

20. The RF conduit of claim 16, with the proviso that no electronics are in electrical communication with the antenna traces.

21. The RF conduit of claim 16, further comprising third and fourth antenna traces having first and second end portions and a central portion extending between the first and second end portions, wherein the central portions of the third and fourth antenna traces are positioned relative to each other such that RF tunneling occurs therealong between the first end portions of the third and fourth antenna traces and the second end portions of the third and fourth antenna traces and an RF signal received at the first end portions of the third and fourth antenna traces is reradiated at the second end portions of the third and fourth antenna traces.

22. The RF conduit of claim 21, wherein at least parts of the central portions of the first and second antenna traces are oriented at an angle of greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees relative to at least parts of the central portions of the third and fourth antenna traces.

23. The RF conduit of claim 21, wherein at least parts of the central portions of the first and second antenna traces are oriented about perpendicular to at least parts of the-central portions of the third and fourth antenna traces.

24. A Radio Frequency (RF) conduit, comprising:

a container suitable for storing a consumer product therein; and

a pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one of the antennas is reradiated at the other antenna, the pair of antennas being coupled to the container,

wherein the antennas are positioned towards two opposite outer ends of the container,

wherein the antennas and transmission line are physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by one of the antennas and reradiated by the other antenna by about 8 dB to about 25 dB in a frequency range of 700 to 1100 megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal through the container between the opposite ends thereof in the absence of the antennas and transmission line.

25. The RF conduit of claim 24, further comprising a chip in communication with the transmission line.

26. The RF conduit of claim 24, with the proviso that no electronics are in electrical communication with the antennas.

27. The. RF conduit of claim 24, further comprising a second pair of antennas coupled together by a second transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the second transmission line between the second pair of antennas and an RF signal received at the first ends of the second pair of antennas is reradiated at the second ends of the second pair of antennas, wherein the transmission line and the second transmission lines are coupled together such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission lines between the antennas and an RF signal received at one antenna is reradiated at the other antennas.

28. A method, comprising:

placing a device between objects, wherein the device includes a pair of antennas coupled together by a transmission line such that RF tunneling occurs along the transmission line between the antennas and an RF signal received at one of the antennas is reradiated at the other antenna,

wherein the device is physically characterized as being capable of reducing a loss of signal strength of a signal received by one of the antennas positioned towards a first side of the objects and reradiated by the other antenna positioned towards a second side of the objects opposite the first side by about 8 dB to about 25 dB in a frequency range of 700 to 1100megahertz (MHz) relative to traversal of the signal through the objects from the first side thereof to the second side thereof in the absence of the device.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the transmission lines are at least 12 inches long.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the antennas are sandwiched between outer sides of the objects after placing the device between the objects.