Aerial inventory antenna

• US 10,050,330 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2017
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ADASA Inc.
• Original Assignee: ADASA Inc.
• Inventors: McAllister, Clarke William
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Albert
• Application Number:
  US15/691,739
• Publication Number:
  US 20180006356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 349 Days
• Field of Search: 701 3, 340 101
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/015 Aligning or centering of the sensing device with respect to the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10376 the interrogation device being adapted for being moveable
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/28 Adaptation for use in or on aircraft, missiles, satellites, or balloons
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/362 for broadside radiating helical antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 11/08 Helical antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/02 using mechanical movement of antenna or antenna system as a whole
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dual polarization radio frequency identification antennae for automatically reading and locating inventory when moved and rotated by an inventory-scanning UAV or robot having three dimensions of position mobility.

Claims

1. A dual polarization antenna for scanning RFID transponders comprising:

a hollow central core having a polygon shape with about a 1.5 inch cross section and a length of about 2 inches wherein the outer skin is electrically conductive;

an RFID interrogator wherein the interrogator is located within the hollow central core with a first and a second antenna feed point extending through the surface of the skin;

a toroidal reflector loop having a diameter of about 4.4 inches;

a first helical exciter element having a diameter of about 4.0 inches with about 1.2 inches between the turns and located above the reflector loop wherein the proximal end of the exciter curls inward to connect with the first antenna feed point;

a second helical exciter element having a diameter of about 4.0 inches with about 1.2 inches between the turns and located above the first helical exciter element wherein the proximal end of the exciter curls inward to connect with the second one of the antenna feed point;

a toroidal director loop having a diameter of about 3.7 inches wherein the director loop is located above the second helical exciter element.

2. The antenna of claim 1 further comprising a second toroidal director located above the first toroidal director.

3. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the reflector, exciters, and director elements are made of 16 AWG brass wire.

4. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the reflector, exciters, and director elements are made of half hard brass wire.

5. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the proximal ends of the exciters are fed by an impedance-matching network.

6. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the exciters are mechanically supported at low voltage points.

7. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the outer skin is thermally conductive.