Electrical connector housing having an RFID transponder

• US 9,477,921 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harting Electric Gmbh & Co. Kg (Harting KGaA)
• Original Assignee: Harting Electric Gmbh & Co. Kg (Harting KGaA)
• Inventors: Troeger, Lutz, Schmieding, Dirk
• Primary Examiner(s): Savusdiphol, Paultep
• Application Number:
  US14/420,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20150199603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 235/487, 235/492
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07756 the connection being non-galvanic, e.g. capacitive
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07773 Antenna details antennas for wireless devices, e.g. RFID tags, in general H01Q1/22
• 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 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/465 Identification means, e.g. labels, tags, markings H01R9/2475, H01R9/2683 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6691 with built-in signalling means H01R13/717 takes precedence

Abstract

A disadvantage of the prior art consists in the fact that the RFID transponders attached to plug-in connectors have a range that is insufficient for many applications. The present disclosure provides a design for a plug-in connector housing with an RFID transponder integrated therein, which allows a range that is greater than the one possible in the prior art. This object is achieved as a result of the fact that the antenna of the RFID transponder includes a slot, so that the antenna is a slot antenna.

Claims

1. A plug-in connector housing comprising an antenna, wherein the antenna is provided in or on the plug-in connector housing, wherein the antenna comprises a slot antenna having a slot, wherein the plug-in connector housing includes a removable module frame, the removable module frame including an RFID transponder having an RFID tag with an RFID chip, and wherein the RFID tag is directly fixed to one of the removable module frame and a lug associated with the removable module frame, and

wherein the RFID tag is automatically located, as a result of the mounting of the removable module frame in the plug-in connector housing, in a specified position relative to the slot of the slot antenna.

2. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slot antenna is attached in an interlocking manner to the plug-in connector housing or is inserted into the plug-in connector housing.

3. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slot antenna has an antenna body that is implemented as a metal foil.

4. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 3, wherein the metal foil is a self-adhesive copper foil.

5. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug-in connector housing is an injection-molded part and in that the slot antenna is inserted as an insertion part into the plug-in connector housing and is coated with plastic.

6. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug-in connector housing comprises an MID (Molded Interconnect Device) enabled plastic or is coated with an LDS (Laser Direct Structuring) enabled material or lacquer, and in that the slot antenna is produced using an MID method.

7. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 6, wherein the slot antenna is produced using the LDS method.

8. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RFID transponder and in particular the antenna body thereof is implemented as a dimensionally stable assembly part that can be inserted into the plug-in connector housing in an interlocking manner and can be fixed therein.

9. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein specific information about the plug-in connector is stored in the RFID chip, which is read by an RFID reader.

10. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein the specific information is selected from the group consisting of contact information, pin assignment and installation instructions.

11. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RFID tag has a coupling loop for magnetically coupling the RFID chip with the slot antenna.

12. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RFID tag has a folded dipole for electrically coupling the RFID chip with the slot antenna.

13. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the specified position relative to the slot further comprises the RFID tag located a thickness of the lug from the slot of the slot antenna.

14. The plug-in connector housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the specified position relative to the slot further comprises placing the RFID tag on the slot.