System and method for reading one or more RFID tags in a metal cassette with an anticollision protocol

• US 9,727,757 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2010
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SATYAtek SA (Steris PLC)
• Original Assignee: SATYAtek SA (Steris PLC)
• Inventors: Zielasch, Andreas, Frosch, Reinhold, Gehrig, Nicolas
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Kerri
• Assistant Examiner(s): Akhter, Sharmin
• Application Number:
  US13/258,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20120075074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,695 Days
• Field of Search: 340 101- 106, 235492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• 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 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10435 the interrogation device being positioned close to a conveyor belt or the like on which moving record carriers are passing conveying in accordance with bodily destination marks, see B65G47/46, sorting of objects carrying identity markings, see B07C5/34
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment
• 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

Reading apparatus for objects each bearing at least one RFID tag, said objects being placed in a cassette that can also be furnished with an RFID tag, said system comprising at least one element in the form of a tunnel in which said cassette can be placed, said element comprising at least one antenna and one RFID reader, said antenna comprising at least two coils composed of several turns, said coils being distributed along and around said tunnel.

Claims

1. A reading apparatus for objects with at least one RFID tag, said objects being placed in a cassette, said apparatus comprising at least one tunnel-shaped element into which said cassette is placed, said at least one tunnel-shaped element comprising at least one antenna and an RFID reader, said at least one antenna comprising at least three coils formed by a continuous wire, each coil comprising several windings, said at least three coils being distributed along and around said at least one tunnel-shaped element, wherein the windings of the at least three coils are perpendicular to the at least one tunnel-shaped element'"'"'s main axis and the at least three coils are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along said at least one tunnel-shaped element and are parallel to each other, and wherein the reading apparatus reads one or several low-frequency tags operating at a frequency range of between 124 and 135 kHz, which tags are rod-shaped and have an anti-collision protocol and which are attached to or incorporated into objects consisting of metal and/or synthetic materials, said rod-shaped tags being disposed with their longitudinal axis in a direction within a range +/−

45°

in relation to the main axis of the at least one tunnel-shaped element.

2. The reading apparatus according to claim 1, comprising at least the following functional modules:

an AC coding of a RFID tag signal;

a digital processing of the signal for detecting collisions at the level of each bit;

a specific algorithm for a rapid and reliable detection of all the tags within the field; and

an I/Q demodulator with adaptive sampling.

3. The reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least three coils comprises at least one internal coil arranged between two external coils.

4. The reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the two external coils each comprise at least 25 windings.

5. The reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the at least one inner coil comprises as many windings as the two external coils or fewer windings than the two external coils.

6. The reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the continuous wire forming the at least one antenna is a copper wire having a diameter of less than 1 mm.

7. The reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least three coils are evenly spaced apart.

8. An RFID reading system comprising at least one tunnel-shaped element, and at least one cassette which contains at least one RFID-tagged object placed in said at least one tunnel-shaped element, said at least one tunnel-shaped element comprising at least one antenna and an RFID reader, said at least one antenna comprising at least three coils formed by a continuous wire, each of said at least three coils comprising several windings, said at least three coils being distributed along and around said at least one tunnel-shaped element, said at least three coils are perpendicular to the main axis of the at least one tunnel-shaped element, and said at least three coils are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along said at least one tunnel-shaped element and are parallel to each other, and wherein the reading apparatus reads one or several low-frequency tags operating at a frequency range of between 124 and 135 kHz, which tags are rod-shaped and have an anti-collision protocol and which are attached to or incorporated into objects consisting of metal and/or synthetic materials, said rod-shaped tags being disposed with their longitudinal axis in a direction within a range of +/−

45°

in relation to the main axis of the at least one tunnel-shaped element.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one cassette is closed.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one cassette is a metal cassette.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one cassette is RFID tagged.

12. A reading apparatus for objects with at least one RFID tag, said objects being placed in a cassette, said apparatus comprising at least one tunnel-shaped element into which said cassette is placed, said at least one tunnel-shaped element comprising at least one antenna and an RFID reader, said at least one antenna comprising at least three coils formed by a continuous wire, each coil comprising several windings, said at least three coils being distributed along and around said at least one tunnel-shaped element, wherein the windings of the at least three coils are perpendicular to the at least one tunnel-shaped element'"'"'s main axis and the at least three coils are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along said at least one tunnel-shaped element and are parallel to each other, wherein the at least three coils comprises at least one internal coil arranged between two external coils, and wherein the at least one inner coil comprises as many windings as the two external coils or fewer windings than the two external.

13. An RFID reading system comprising at least one tunnel-shaped element, and at least one cassette which contains at least one RFID-tagged object placed in said at least one tunnel-shaped element, said at least one tunnel-shaped element comprising at least one antenna and an RFD reader, said at least one antenna comprising at least three coils formed by a continuous wire, each of said at least three coils comprising several windings, said at least three coils being distributed along and around said at least one tunnel-shaped element, said at least three coils are perpendicular to the main axis of the at least one tunnel-shaped element, and said at least three coils are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along said at least one tunnel-shaped element and are parallel to each other, wherein the at least three coils comprises at least one internal coil arranged between two external coils, wherein the at least one inner coil comprises as many windings as the two external coils or fewer windings than the two external.