Patent Application
20080024305
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The figures are examples only, and do not limit the scope of the invention.
With reference to the figures, the present invention is herein described, shown, and otherwise disclosed in accordance with one or more preferred embodiments. More specifically, referring to
In one embodiment, the container 22 is an otherwise substantially conventional container, and the container material 26 is an otherwise substantially conventional container material having electrical properties suitable for use as a dielectric substrate for the RFID tag 20. In one embodiment, the container material 26 is high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which has a relatively low dielectric constant and a very low loss tangent. In another embodiment, the container material 26 is corrugate, a paper-based material, which, being mostly air, has a dielectric constant close to one and a loss tangent close to zero. In one embodiment, the container 22 is designed to contain and/or contains aqueous, metallic, or other contents which would act to detune or otherwise interfere with the normal operation of a standard RFID tag.
In one embodiment, referring to
Use of the microstrip antenna 32 advantageously reduces or eliminates detuning, unlike standard RFID tag antennas. As used herein, the term “planar” means “on a level that is spaced apart from and generally parallel to the ground plane”, and does not mean “flat”. Thus, in one embodiment the microstrip antenna 32 and the ground plane 30 are both planar and flat, while in another embodiment the microstrip antenna 32 and the ground plane 30 are both planar and non-flat, e.g., curved.
In one embodiment, the ground plane 30 comprises metal foil associated with, i.e., affixed to, substantially flush with, or embedded below, an interior surface of the container wall 24. In one embodiment, the microstrip antenna 32 is associated with i.e., affixed to, substantially flush with, or embedded below, an exterior surface of the container wall 24 and substantially adjacent to the ground plane 30, with at least some thickness of the container material 26 being interposed between the ground plane 30 and the microstrip antenna 32. In embodiments in which the microstrip antenna 32 is embedded below the exterior surface of the container 22, the thickness of the container material 26 interposed between the embedded microstrip antenna 32 and the exterior surface functions as a superstrate, and the microstrip antenna 32 may need to be tuned to account for the material and thickness of the superstrate.
More specifically, in
From the foregoing discussion, one with ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the advantages provided by the present invention, including allowing for reducing or eliminating protrusion of the RFID tag from either or both of the interior or exterior surfaces of the container wall, and thereby reducing or eliminating packing and storage problems and contact damage and facilitating reuse of the container, particularly where reuse is preceded by processing, e.g., washing and/or sterilizing, the used container. Furthermore, as mentioned, use of the microstrip antenna advantageously reduces or eliminates detuning, unlike standard RFID tag antennas.
All of the apparatuses and methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the present invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations may be applied to the methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
The present non-provisional patent application is related to and claims priority benefit of an earlier-filed provisional patent application titled METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INTEGRATING PLANAR MICROSTRIP ANTENNA INTO CONTAINERS, Ser. No. 60/820,744, filed Jul. 28, 2006. The identified earlier-filed application is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60820744 | Jul 2006 | US |
