阅读说明：本技术 使用多层结构来提高耐用性的rfid标签 (RFID tag using multi-layer structure to improve durability ) 是由 I·福斯特 于 2018-12-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种多层导体装置,其包括在天线中使用的两个或更多个导体,用于更耐用的射频识别(RFID)标签。导体是电互连的,但机械地分开,因此一个导体的故障不一定会导致另一导体的故障。并且,如果故障发生在天线的不同位置,则通过天线的电流路径将桥接断裂。(A multi-layer conductor device is disclosed that includes two or more conductors for use in an antenna for a more durable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. The conductors are electrically interconnected but mechanically separated so that failure of one conductor does not necessarily result in failure of another conductor. Also, if the fault occurs at a different location of the antenna, the current path through the antenna will break the bridge.)

1. A multi-layer conductor arrangement for a more durable radio frequency identification tag, comprising:

a first conductor;

a second conductor; and

a dielectric between the first and second conductors, wherein the first and second conductors are connected together at their ends to form different current paths.

2. The multilayer conductor arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first and second conductors are connected together at spaced intervals along the first and second conductors.

3. The multilayer conductor arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are connected together by the dielectric.

4. The multilayer conductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and second conductors are connected together via at least one of crimping, welding, or forming holes in the first and second conductors.

5. The multilayer conductor arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are connected together via a capacitor with a thin dielectric.

6. The multilayer conductor arrangement of claim 1, wherein at least one capacitor is located between the first conductor and the second conductor.

7. The multilayer conductor device of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second conductors includes at least one aperture.

8. The multilayer conductor device of claim 1, further comprising an adhesive between the first conductor and the second conductor.

9. The multilayer conductor device of claim 1, further comprising an RFID strap positioned between the first and second conductors.

10. The multi-layer conductor arrangement of claim 9, further comprising a crimp between the first conductor and the second conductor, the crimp protecting the RFID strap.

11. A multi-layer conductor arrangement for a more durable radio frequency identification tag, comprising:

a first conductor;

a second conductor; and

an intervening dielectric between the first and second conductors, wherein the first and second conductors are connected together at a plurality of intervals along the first and second conductors by the intervening dielectric via crimps, thereby forming different paths for current to flow along the first and second conductors.

12. The multilayer conductor device of claim 11, wherein each of the first and second conductors includes an aperture at a different location along the first and second conductors.

13. The multi-layer conductor arrangement of claim 11, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor comprise two antennas positioned between the first conductor and the second conductor.

14. The multi-layer conductor arrangement of claim 13, wherein the two antennas comprise an RFID strap sandwiched between the two antennas.

15. The multi-layer conductor arrangement of claim 14, further comprising a crimp between the first conductor and the second conductor, the crimp protecting the RFID strap from damage.

16. A multi-layer conductor arrangement for a more durable radio frequency identification tag, comprising:

a first conductor; and

a second conductor, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are connected together via a capacitance through a thin dielectric, and further wherein a plurality of capacitors are positioned along each of the first conductor and the second conductor to form different current paths.

17. The multilayer conductor device of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second conductors includes an aperture at a different location along the first and second conductors.

18. The multilayer conductor device of claim 16, wherein the RFID tag is a High Frequency (HF) RFID tag having a coil antenna.

19. The multilayer conductor device of claim 18, wherein each of the first and second conductors comprises a pattern substantially similar to the coil antenna and located on either side of the thin dielectric.

20. The multi-layer conductor arrangement of claim 19, wherein the first and second conductors are interconnected by a series of crimps along the first and second conductors.

Background

The present invention relates generally to a multilayer conductor arrangement for more durable radio frequency identification ("RFID") tags. Specifically, the apparatus creates fault tolerant redundant antennas with different paths for radio frequency ("RF") current to flow through. The present subject matter is particularly applicable to apparel, uniforms, and other garments. Therefore, this specification makes specific reference thereto. However, it should be understood that aspects of the present subject matter are equally applicable to other similar applications.

RFID is the use of electromagnetic energy ("EM energy") to stimulate a responsive device (called an RFID "tag" or transponder) to identify itself and, in some cases, provide additional stored data. RFID tags typically include a semiconductor device, commonly referred to as a "chip," on which is formed memory and operating circuitry that is connected to an antenna. Typically, an RFID tag acts as a transponder, providing information stored in a chip memory in response to an RF interrogation signal received from a reader (also referred to as an interrogator). In the case of a passive RFID device, the energy of the interrogation signal also provides the energy required to operate the RFID device.

RFID tags may be incorporated into or attached to items to be tracked. In some cases, the label may be attached to the exterior of the article by adhesive, tape, or other means, in other cases the label may be inserted into the article, for example contained in a package, located in a container for the article, or sewn to a garment. RFID tags are manufactured with a unique identification number, which is typically a simple serial number of a few bytes with check bits. The identification number is incorporated into the tag during manufacture. The user cannot change this serial/identification number and the manufacturer ensures that each serial number is used only once. Such read-only RFID tags are typically permanently attached to the item to be tracked and, once attached, the serial number of the tag is associated with its host item in a computer database.

However, RFID tags incorporated into clothing or other items may be subjected to heat, chemical attack, and/or mechanical forces as part of a pre-treatment process and/or a conventional cleaning process for the clothing or other items. For example, treatments such as stone washing denim, consumer washing denim, and/or industrial washing or dry cleaning may be applied to garments and other articles. Furthermore, all of these handling and cleaning methods may cause cracks and/or breaks in various portions of the RFID tag antenna. The prior art devices address this problem by making the conductor thicker, for example, increasing the thickness of the conductor from 15 microns to 30 microns. However, once a fracture or crack begins to occur, the fracture propagates through the conductor even if the conductor is made of a thicker structure.

A multilayer conductor arrangement including two or more conductors for use in an antenna for a more durable RFID tag is disclosed. The conductors are electrically interconnected but mechanically separated so that failure of one conductor does not necessarily result in failure of another conductor. Also, if the fault occurs at a different location of the antenna, the current path through the antenna will break the bridge.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview and is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspect thereof, includes a multilayer conductor arrangement that includes two or more conductors for use in an antenna for a more durable RFID tag. The conductors are electrically connected to each other, but mechanically separated to create a redundant antenna with fault tolerance capability that has different paths for RF current flow. Thus, a fault in one conductor does not necessarily result in a fault in the other conductor, and if the fault occurs at a different location on the antenna, the current path through the antenna will bridge the break.

In a preferred embodiment, two or more conductors are connected or crimped together along the conductor with an intervening dielectric spacing. In another embodiment, two or more conductors are connected together spaced apart by a thin dielectric via a capacitor. In both embodiments, failure of one conductor does not necessarily result in failure of the other conductor. Furthermore, if the break occurs at a different point of the conductor structure, the current path will still work in case of a fault in both conductors.

In addition, the conductor may be modified to ensure that the fracture in the conductor occurs at a different location under strain. In particular, the conductors may include apertures at different locations, the conductors may be clamped together with an adhesive, or the conductors may be interconnected by a series of crimps (crimp) or by capacitance via a thin dielectric.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the disclosed innovation are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein may be employed and is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a top perspective view of a multi-layer conductor arrangement for a more robust RFID tag in accordance with the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 2A illustrates a top perspective view of an alternative structure of a multi-layer conductor arrangement, wherein connections between conductors are made at intervals along the conductors in accordance with the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 2B illustrates a top perspective view of conductors connected via a crimp and a single break in one of the conductors according to the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 2C illustrates a top perspective view of a conductor connected via a crimp and multiple breaks in the conductor at different points according to the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 3A illustrates a top perspective view of an alternative structure of a multilayer conductor device in accordance with the disclosed architecture, wherein the conductor and thin dielectric are coupled via capacitance.

Fig. 3B illustrates a top perspective view of conductors connected via a capacitor and a single break in one of the conductors according to the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 3C illustrates a top perspective view of a conductor connected via a capacitor and multiple breaks in the conductor at different points according to the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 4 illustrates a top perspective view of an alternative structure of a multilayer conductor device in accordance with the disclosed architecture, wherein conductors have apertures at different locations therein.

Fig. 5A illustrates a side perspective view of a multilayer conductor device in accordance with the disclosed architecture, wherein an adhesive and an RFID strap are placed between two antennas/conductors.

Fig. 5B illustrates a top perspective view of a multilayer conductor arrangement with an adhesive and an RFID strap positioned between two antennas/conductors according to the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 6 illustrates a top perspective view of a multilayer conductor arrangement according to the disclosed architecture, wherein a crimp or weld between the conductors provides mechanical protection for the RFID strap.

Fig. 7 illustrates a top perspective view of a multilayer conductor arrangement for a High Frequency (HF) RFID tag having a coil antenna according to the disclosed architecture.

Detailed Description

The present invention is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing them.

A multilayer conductor arrangement includes two or more conductors used in an antenna for a more durable RFID tag. The conductors are electrically interconnected but mechanically separated so that failure of one conductor does not necessarily result in failure of another conductor. Also, if the fault occurs at a different location of the antenna, the current path through the antenna will break the bridge.

Referring initially to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a multi-layer conductor arrangement 100 for a more durable RFID tag. The multilayer conductor device 100 includes a first conductor 102 and a second conductor 104, with a dielectric 106 located between the conductors 102 and 104. Conductors 102 and 104 may be any suitable conductors known in the art. Furthermore, there may be any number of conductors connected together (i.e., the device is not limited to only two conductors) to create a variety of paths for current flowing through the conductors. In general, conductors 102 and 104 may be any suitable size, shape, and configuration known in the art without affecting the overall concept of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the shape and size of conductors 102 and 104 as shown in fig. 1 is for illustrative purposes only, and that many other shapes and sizes of conductors 102 and 104 are well within the scope of the present disclosure. Although the dimensions (i.e., length, width, and height) of conductors 102 and 104 are important design parameters for good performance, conductors 102 and 104 may be any shape or size that ensures optimal performance during use.

Further, the conductors 102 and 104 are connected together 108 at their respective ends 109 and 110 by any suitable means for connecting the conductors 102 and 104 to form different paths for current to flow along the conductors 102 and 104. If a break occurs in the first conductor 102, current can still flow along the second conductor 104 without interruption. Thus, as shown in fig. 1, if a break 112 occurs in the first conductor 102, current flows along the second conductor 104 to the point 108 where the first conductor 102 and the second conductor 104 join. Thus, if the current is part of the antenna for the RFID tag or part of the connection between the antenna and the RFID device, the operation of the RFID tag will continue within the same or reduced range, although to a lesser extent than if a different path were not available.

In another embodiment as shown in fig. 2A, a multilayer conductor device 200 is disclosed that includes a first conductor 202 and a second conductor 204, wherein at least one dielectric 206 is located between the conductors 202 and 204. Further, the first conductor 202 and the second conductor 204 are connected together at intervals along the conductors 202 and 204. These connections 208 between conductors 202 and 204 through intervening dielectric 206 may be formed by any suitable means known in the art, such as crimping, welding, or forming holes in the conductors with a fabric-coated inner wall. In this application, such a connection is referred to as a "crimp" 208. Since there are connections/crimps 208 at many points between the conductors 202, 204, there is no need to always make connections to both conductors 202 and 204. For example, when the conductors 202 and 204 are part of an RFID tag antenna, it is possible that the RFID device is directly connected to the first conductor 202 and the connection to the second conductor 204 is through a crimp 208 adjacent to the RFID device.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B, the multilayer conductor device 200 is shown with a single break 210 in the first conductor 202. However, since the multilayer conductor device 200 includes a plurality of connections/crimps 208, the flow of current F along the conductors 202 and 204 is uninterrupted. In particular, fig. 2B shows how the current F travels along a path that contains a crimp 208, the crimp 208 bypassing a break 210 in the first conductor 202, allowing the current to flow to the second conductor 204, allowing the RFID tag to operate.

As shown in fig. 2C, the multilayer conductor device 200 is shown with breaks 212 in both the first conductor 202 and the second conductor 204. However, since the multilayer conductor device 200 includes a plurality of crimps 208, the current F flows along the conductors 202 and 204 without interruption. In particular, fig. 2C shows how the current F travels along a path that contains a crimp 208, which crimp 208 bypasses the break 212 in the first and second conductors 202, 204, allowing the RFID tag to function.

In an alternative embodiment shown in fig. 3A, a multilayer conductor device 300 is disclosed that includes a first conductor 302 and a second conductor 304 coupled together via a thin dielectric 306. The thin dielectric 306 may be any suitable dielectric known in the art. Further, conductors 302 and 304 are coupled to thin dielectric 306 via a capacitor. Although fig. 3A illustrates a series of discrete capacitors 308, the capacitance of the multi-layer conductor device 300 is not limited to a particular location, but includes any suitable placement and number of capacitors 308 as is known in the art.

In addition, as shown in fig. 3B, the multilayer conductor device 300 is shown with a single break 310 in the first conductor 302. However, since the multi-layer conductor arrangement 300 includes multiple couplings with the capacitor 308, the current F flows uninterrupted along the conductors 302 and 304. In particular, fig. 3B shows how current F travels along a path via distributed interlayer capacitance 308 to bridge the gap caused by break 310 in first conductor 302, allowing current F to continue to flow through conductors 302 and 304 and allowing the current RFID tag to operate.

As shown in fig. 3C, the multilayer conductor device 300 is shown with breaks 312 in both the first conductor 302 and the second conductor 304. However, since the multi-layer conductor arrangement 300 includes multiple couplings with the capacitor 308, the current F flows uninterrupted along the conductors 302 and 304. In particular, fig. 3C shows how current F travels along a path via distributed interlayer capacitance 308 to bridge the gap caused by break 312 in conductors 302 and 304, allowing current to continue to flow through conductors 302 and 304 and the RFID tag to operate.

All of the above disclosed multilayer conductor devices perform best when a break (or failure) occurs at different points along the conductor. Thus, the conductors may be modified in order to ensure that the break occurs at different points along the conductor. These modifications ensure that in the event of strain, bending, etc., the fracture will occur at a different location and the RFID tag will continue to function.

As shown in fig. 4, one embodiment of the present invention discloses conductors 400 and 402 having apertures 404 or pores or holes fabricated therein at different locations on top conductor 400 and bottom conductor 402. Conductors 400 and 402 may be modified using other suitable methods, such as embossing or perforating conductors 400 and 402 or using any other suitable method known in the art. Thus, a break in conductors 400 and 402 will tend to occur between apertures 404, and since apertures 404 are in different locations, the break is less likely to be in the same location, allowing the bridging strategy disclosed in fig. 2-3 to be more effective.

In an alternative embodiment shown in fig. 5A-B, two copies of the conductor pattern of antennas/conductors 504 and 506 are sandwiched together with an adhesive 508 or other suitable material known in the art therebetween. Two copies of the conductive pattern of antennas 504 and 506 are then placed between dielectric layers 500 and 502 or other suitable material layers. Also, an RFID strap/interposer 510 is placed in the adhesive layer 508, coupled to the two copies of the antennas 504 and 506 by capacitance or crimping. The properties of the material (layer) coupling the two antennas/conductors 504 and 506 together may help protect the device. For example, if the material is an elastic material, mechanical stress from one layer may decouple from the other layer when the device is bent or pulled, and thus the possibility of simultaneous failure of antennas 504 and 506 at the same point is highly unlikely. Further, by being sandwiched between the two antennas 504 and 506, the RFID tape 510 can be well protected from damage caused by washing, wearing, and the like.

Fig. 6 illustrates another embodiment in which an additional crimp or weld 600 between conductors (antennas) 602 and 604 provides mechanical protection and conductive path diversity for an RFID strap 606 used as part of an RFID tag 608. Specifically, an RFID strap 606 is positioned between the two conductors 602 and 604. Conductors 602 and 604 are then interconnected by an additional crimp or weld 600 to mechanically protect RFID strap 606.

Fig. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention utilizing a High Frequency (HF) RFID tag 700. Here, two conductors (or coil antennas) 702 and 704 having the same pattern are provided on either side of a dielectric 706. The dielectric 706 acts as a mechanical separator. The coil antennas 702 and 704 are then interconnected by a series of crimps 708 along the conductive traces of the loops, so that breaks in the conductors (coil antennas) 702 and 704 can be bridged as previously described. Another advantage is that the overall resistance of the coil antennas 702 and 704 is reduced. Further, although a structure having a crimp 708 between the top and bottom of the conductors 702 and 704 has been shown, a capacitor via a thin dielectric may also be used.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term "includes" is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.