The present invention relates to radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. The invention also relates to RFID tags with enhanced printing capabilities.
Conventional RFID tags have a substrate or face stock on one side of which an RFID device, chip, or strap is mounted. An adhesive layer is coated over the RFID device, and a release liner is applied to the adhesive layer. Accordingly, there is an uneven thickness in the RFID tag at the location of the RFID device, chip, or strap, such that the RFID tag bulges at this location.
It is common to print information on the RFID tag after the tag has been manufactured, either by the manufacturer or by the end user. However, because of the uneven thickness, when passing through a printer during a printing process, the RFID tag has a tendency to jam in the printer or to otherwise present an undesirable printing surface for the print head of the printer, thereby resulting in print distortion and less than optimal printing. In addition, compressing the RFID tag between the pinch roller and the print head may damage the RFID device and associated inlayed structure or may damage the print head itself, thereby decreasing the life of the print head.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for RFID tags that mitigate or eliminate the problems associated with printing on conventional tags. The present invention satisfies this need.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags enable efficient, reliable printing by providing tags that are effectively flat along their transverse axis as they pass below the print head during the printing process.
According to one aspect of the invention, an RFID tag includes a face stock and an RFID device. The face stock has a printable side and an inlay side, with the RFID device mounted to the inlay side. A layer of adhesive is coated on the inlay side of the face stock. A liner is releasably adhered to the layer of adhesive and includes a relief area that is coincident with or located at the RFID device. The relief area may include a plurality of weakening lines, such as scored or die cut lines in the liner, that enable the liner to flex or separate when the RFID tag is compressed to accommodate any deflection of the RFID device. In other embodiments, the relief area includes a seat for accommodating the RFID device.
According to another aspect, the layer of adhesive includes a blank that is substantially free of adhesive at the location of the RFID device. The blank essentially provides a recess that effectively accommodates the thickness of the RFID device, thereby resulting in a tag that has a substantially uniform thickness. Accordingly, when passing through a printer, the printable surface is maintained substantially flat or linear at the print head of the printer, thereby minimizing jamming and enhancing printability.
According to still another aspect, a pinch roller for a printer also accommodates any unevenness in the print surface of the RFID tag when passing through a printer. The pinch roller includes a body that is rotatable about a transverse axis and a deformable section disposed along a length of the body. The deformable section deforms to a greater degree than the rest of the body in a normal direction that is orthogonal to the transverse axis. Accordingly, when an RFID tag with an uneven thickness passes through the printer, the deformable section of the pinch roller accommodates the uneveness by compressing or deflecting in the normal direction.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIGS, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are plan views respectively illustrating alternative embodiments of a liner with a deformable section;
Referring more particularly to
The face stock 102 may include an inlay substrate 114, such as a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), applied to the inlay side 108 on which the RFID device 104 (such as a microchip) and the antenna 110 may be disposed. In addition, a layer of adhesive 116, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), may be coated on the inlay side 108 of the face stock 102, and a liner 118 may be releasably adhered to the layer of adhesive 116.
With additional reference to
For the purposes of this description, the word blank indicated by reference numeral 120 is used to describe an area or region in the layer of adhesive 116 that is free of adhesive. This spatial void in the layer of adhesive 116 may be alternatively described as, for example, a window, an opening, an aperture, or a seat in the adhesive 116.
Thus, in some of the embodiments, the tag 100 may be configured so that a thickness t is substantially uniform along a transverse axis T, as shown in
In other embodiments, such as shown in
In still other embodiments, such as shown in
More specifically, in a number of embodiments, such as the alternative embodiments respectively shown in
As examples of commercial embodiments, the thickness of the liner 118 may range from about 2 mil to about 8 mil, and the thickness of the RFID chip 104 may range from about 5 mil to about 10 mil. For example, if the device or chip 104 is about 5 ml, then the liner 118 may be selected to be about 8 mil.
In this regard, rather than providing a blank 120 in the adhesive layer 116, a recess or seat 135 may be formed in the liner 118 at the location of or coincident with the RFID device 104 as shown in
For the purposes of this description, the term relief area is used to describe an area or structure of the tag 100 that enables distortion of the tag 100 when under stress or that allows the RFID device 104 to deflect under force, thereby entering the original or normal volume of the liner 118. The distortion or deflection may be either permanent or temporary.
In still other embodiments, accommodation of deflection of an RFID tag in the normal direction N may be accomplished by a pinch roller 126 as shown in
The deformable section 136 is configured to deform to a greater degree in response to a given force than the rest of the body 134. In other words, the deformable section 136 is deformable, deflectable, or compressible to a greater degree than the rest of the body 134 in the normal direction N that is orthogonal to the transverse axis T. In addition, the deformable section 136 may also be resilient in that the deformable section 136 is able to resume its original shape or position after being compressed or deformed. In a number of embodiments in which an elastic or resilient material is used, the deformable section 136 may be described as being “softer” than the rest of the body 134.
In some of the embodiments, the deformable section 136 may include foams such as closed-cell foams. In other embodiments, the deformable section 136 may be implemented with an electrically controllable material, such as an electro-active polymer with controllable parameters that can be softened at the deformable section 136 on command.
More specifically, as shown in
However, in a printing process in which the tag 110 does not have a uniform thickness and, therefore, deflects in the normal direction N when compressed between the print head 124 and the pinch roller 126, as shown in
In other words, a normal separation S may be defined between the print head 124 and the pinch roller 126 in a normal, non-deflecting printing process. In a printing process in which an RFID tag 100 has a greater thickness at a location of an RFID device 104, thereby resulting in deflection, then the pinch roller 126 can accommodate this greater thickness at the location of the RFID device 104 by increasing the separation S between the print head 124 and the pinch roller 126 by a defection separation ΔS, thereby maintaining the printable side 108 of the face stock 102 substantially linear or flat along the transverse axis T. The deformation of the deformable section 136 is temporary in that after the tag 100 has passed through the printer, the deformable section 136 returns to a normal condition under the resiliency thereof.
Those skilled in the art will understand that the preceding embodiments of the present invention provide the foundation for numerous alternatives and modifications thereto. For example, rather than a single deformable section 136 along the body 134 of the roller 126, a plurality of such deformable sections may be provided. Alternatively, the entire length of the body 134 of the roller 126 may be made from a material that is substantially resilient to accommodate any local deflection of the printing stock or RFID tag 100. These other modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to that precisely as shown and described in the present invention.
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