Rotating-polarization reflector-backed RFID loop antenna apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An antenna apparatus, comprising:
- a rotatable loop element comprising a feed; and
a reflector backing the loop element and configured to reflect radio frequency energy from the loop element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the reflector;
wherein the rotatable loop element and the reflector cooperatively form a rotating-polarization reflector-backed loop antenna with directionality responsive to a position and/or orientation of the reflector and polarization responsive to a position of the feed on the rotatable loop element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a rotating-polarization reflector-backed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) loop antenna apparatus and method. The loop antenna apparatus and method provides high gain (i.e., maximizing read distances at lowest power), directionality (i.e., ability to focus on specific areas), orientation insensitivity (i.e., ability to read RFID tags in any direction or orientation) while occupying minimal volume in overhead configurations. In an exemplary embodiment, the loop antenna apparatus includes a reflector and a loop element with the reflector configured to reflect downward RF energy from the loop element. Antenna polarization is controlled by a feed location on the loop element and antenna pattern is controlled by the reflector. Thus, orientation insensitivity may be achieved without changing the antenna pattern by rotating the feed location and not the reflector.
9 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An antenna apparatus, comprising:
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a rotatable loop element comprising a feed; and a reflector backing the loop element and configured to reflect radio frequency energy from the loop element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the reflector; wherein the rotatable loop element and the reflector cooperatively form a rotating-polarization reflector-backed loop antenna with directionality responsive to a position and/or orientation of the reflector and polarization responsive to a position of the feed on the rotatable loop element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, comprising:
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a housing; an RFID reader module disposed in the housing; and a rotating-polarization reflector-backed loop antenna communicatively coupled to the RFID reader module; wherein the RFID reader is configured to operate in an overhead configuration with respect to a plurality of RFID tags based on the rotating-polarization reflector-backed loop antenna. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method, comprising:
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transmitting radio frequency energy using a loop element with a feed in a first position; reflecting with a reflector substantially all of the radio frequency transmitted from the loop element in a vertical direction; rotating the feed while keeping the reflector in a same position to achieve polarization diversity; and rotating the reflector and the loop element with the field cooperatively to achieve spatial diversity.
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Specification