This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 21218213.3 filed Dec. 29, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to the field of tamper-evident devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to tamper-evident RFID Tag for container closure plugs.
Radio frequency identification, RFID for short, technology has been widely using in logistics, retail industries and many other areas. It has improved management efficiency and saved labor costs significantly. A RFID system may comprises a RFID tag and a RFID reader. The work process is that the RFID reader generates electromagnetic wave at a particular frequency and sent request signals. When a RFID tag passes through within the RFID readers scanning distance, it will detect the request signal and reverse scattering couple the electromagnetic wave back to the RFID reader.
RFID technology has great potential in applications in anti-counterfeiting field. In industries such as liquor, tobacco and pharmacy, once counterfeit products emerge, they always bring an immeasurable loss to both the society and individuals. Safe and effective anti-counterfeiting measurements are need in product production and distribution fields in these industries. Paper-based print anti-counterfeiting technologies, laser mark and digital security code for instance, are not unique or exclusive. They are easy to be duplicated. It is difficult for them to play the role of real anti-counterfeiting. RFID anti-counterfeiting technology becomes superior in the industries mentioned above by its outstanding anti-counterfeiting capabilities. RFID anti-counterfeiting technology requires each passive RFID tag to be allocated to every protected subject. Each RFID tag has a globally unique ID number. And the ID number is stored in the read-only memory of a chip so that they cannot be modified or copied. This greatly enhanced the anti-counterfeiting performance.
However, thanks to some technics, it is possible to remove and to harvest the RFID tag from the original product and to use it on a counterfeit product, which makes really difficult for the customer to make the difference between an original product and a counterfeit product.
The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks, and therefore has for its object to provides a method for manufacturing a Tamper-evident RFID Tag; said method comprising at least one:
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag.
According to an embodiment, said method comprises at least one main electrical contact deposit; said at least one main electrical contact deposit comprises at least one:
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag, in particular with an antenna. Indeed, said at least one first electrical contact and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact realizes or realize a short circuit with said at least one secondary IC contact and/or with said at least one primary IC contact respectively.
According to an embodiment, said method comprises at least one protection layer deposit; said at least one protection layer deposit comprises a deposit of said at least one protection layer on said at least one integrated circuit.
According to an embodiment, said method comprises at least one auxiliary electrical contact deposit; said at least one auxiliary electrical contact deposit comprises at least one:
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, said at least one primary electrical contact and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact allows or allow the electrical contact between the antenna and said at least one primary IC contact and/or said at least one secondary IC contact.
According to an embodiment, said at least one first main electrical contact deposit occurs after said at least one protection layer deposit and/or said at least one second main electrical contact deposit.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag, in particular with an antenna.
According to an embodiment, said at least one second main electrical contact deposit occurs after said at least one protection layer deposit and/or said at least one first main electrical contact deposit.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag, in particular with an antenna.
According to an embodiment, said at least one first auxiliary electrical contact deposit occurs after said at least one protection layer deposit and/or said at least one second auxiliary electrical contact deposit.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, said at least one primary electrical contact and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact allows or allow the electrical contact between the antenna and said at least one primary IC contact and/or said at least one secondary IC contact.
According to an embodiment, said at least one second auxiliary electrical contact deposit occurs after said at least one protection layer deposit and/or said at least one first auxiliary electrical contact deposit.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, when said Tamper-evident RFID Tag is manipulated, said at least one degradable layer is altered and said at least one integrated circuit is inoperable.
The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks, and therefore has for its object to provides a tamper-evident RFID Tag comprising at least one integrated circuit, at least one primary IC contact:
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag.
According to an embodiment, said tamper-evident RFID Tag comprises at least one degradable layer configured to cover said at least one first distal electrical contact portion and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag by altering said at least one degradable layer and thus preventing an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag with an antenna due to a potential short circuit said at least one first distal electrical contact portion and said at least one secondary IC contact and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion and said at least one primary IC contact.
According to an embodiment, said at least one degradable layer is configured to be comprised between said at least one first distal electrical contact portion and said at least one second proximal electrical contact portion and/or said at least one secondary IC contact, and/or to be comprised between said at least one second distal electrical contact portion and said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion and/or said at least one primary IC contact.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag by altering said at least one degradable layer and thus preventing an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag with an antenna due to a potential short circuit said at least one first distal electrical contact portion and said at least one secondary IC contact and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion and said at least one primary IC contact.
According to an embodiment, said at least one first distal electrical contact portion is configured to be disposed above said at least one second proximal electrical contact portion and/or said at least one secondary IC contact, and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion is configured to be disposed above said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion and/or said at least one primary IC contact.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag by altering said at least one degradable layer and thus preventing an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag with an antenna due to a potential short circuit said at least one first distal electrical contact portion and said at least one secondary IC contact and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion and said at least one primary IC contact.
According to an embodiment, said tamper-evident RFID Tag comprises at least one primary electrical contact configured to contact said at least one primary IC contact and/or said at least one first electrical contact, and/or at least one secondary electrical contact configured to contact said at least one secondary IC contact and/or said at least one second electrical contact.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag by altering said at least one degradable layer and thus preventing an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag with an antenna.
According to an embodiment, said at least one primary electrical contact and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact comprises or comprise at least one undercut such as to be disconnected of said at least one primary IC contact and/or said at least one secondary IC contact respectively when said at least one degradable layer is altered and/or removed.
Thanks to the arrangements according to the invention, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag by altering said at least one degradable layer and thus preventing an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag with an antenna.
The foregoing and other purposes, features, aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments, given by way of illustration and not limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art via a Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100, which may guaranty the origin of the product and may prevent any attempt of harvesting an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100. The latter, i.e. said tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 may comprise at least one integrated circuit 101, an insulating layer 102, at least one primary IC contact 110, and at least one secondary IC contact 120 as illustrated in
Said method 500 may comprises at least one main electrical contact deposit 530 comprising at least one first main electrical contact deposit 531. Said at least one first main electrical contact deposit 531 may deposit at least one first electrical contact 130 and/or at least one second electrical contact 140 on said at least one integrated circuit 101.
As it can be construed from
However, in some embodiments, there may only be said at least one first electrical contact 130 or said at least one second electrical contact 140.
As depicted in
Further, at least one protection layer 151 may be provided 510 and may be deposited on said at least one integrated circuit 101, on said at least one first electrical contact 130 and/or on said at least one second electrical contact 140. After said at least one providing 510 of said at least one protection layer 151, at least one curing 520 of said at least one protection layer 151 between 100° C. and 200° C., preferably between 130° C. and 170° C., during 2 minutes up to 45 minutes, preferably between 5 minutes and 15 minutes, may occur such as to turn said at least one protection layer 151 into at least one degradable layer 155.
Said at least one main electrical contact deposit 530 may also comprise at least one second main electrical contact deposit 532 of said at least one first electrical contact 130 and/or of said at least one secondary electrical contact 140, if said at least one first electrical contact 130 and/or of said at least one secondary electrical contact 140 is or are not deposit during said at least one first main electrical contact deposit 531, on said at least one integrated circuit 101 and/or on said at least one degradable layer 155.
Further, since said at least one protection layer 151 may be deposited in an early phase of method 500, said at least one protection layer 151 may be comprised between said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 and said at least one second proximal electrical contact portion 141 and/or said at least one secondary IC contact 120, and/or to be comprised between said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 and said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion 131 and/or said at least one primary IC contact 110.
The same may be possible after said at least one protection layer 151 turns into said at least one degradable layer 155, which means said at least one degradable layer 155 may be comprised between said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 and said at least one second proximal electrical contact portion 141 and/or said at least one secondary IC contact 120, and/or to be comprised between said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 and said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion 131 and/or said at least one primary IC contact 110. Therefore, said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 may be disposed above said at least one second proximal electrical contact portion 141 and/or said at least one secondary IC contact 120 in some cases, and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 is configured to be disposed above said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion 131 and/or said at least one primary IC contact 110 in some another cases.
As aforementioned in some the embodiments, there may be said at least one first electrical contact 130 and/or said at least one second electrical contact 140, and said method 500 may comprise at least one auxiliary electrical contact deposit 550 comprising at least one first auxiliary electrical contact deposit 551 and/or at least one second auxiliary electrical contact deposit 552.
Said at least one first auxiliary electrical contact deposit 551 may comprise a deposit of at least one primary electrical contact 115 and/or at least one secondary electrical contact 125 on said at least one integrated circuit 101 and/or on said at least one degradable layer 155. Depending on the embodiments, said at least one second auxiliary electrical contact deposit 552 may comprise a deposit of at least one primary electrical contact 115 and/or at least one primary electrical contact 125 on said at least one integrated circuit 101 and/or on said at least one degradable layer 155. In both case, said at least one primary electrical contact 115 and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact 125 may allow the electrical contact between the antenna and said at least one primary IC contact 110 and/or said at least one secondary IC contact 120. Indeed, said at least one primary electrical contact 115 may contact said at least one primary IC contact 110 and/or said at least one first electrical contact 130, and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact 125 may contact said at least one secondary IC contact 120 and/or said at least one second electrical contact 140.
As illustrated in
As it appears clearly from the present specification, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100, in particular with an antenna. Indeed, said at least one first electrical contact 130 and/or said at least one secondary electrical contact 140 may realize a short circuit with said at least one secondary IC contact 120 and/or with said at least one primary IC contact 110 respectively. Indeed, if someone try to harvest said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100, said antenna may be separate from said at least one integrated circuit 101 and said at least one degradable layer 155 may be deteriorated, which leads to an exposure of said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 and said at least one secondary IC contact 120 or at least one second proximal electrical contact portion 141 and/or of said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 and said at least one primary IC contact 110 or said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion 131.
If an assembly or a reassembly is attempted, a short circuit occurs due to the vicinity of said at least one distal electrical contact portion 132, 142 and said at least one IC contact 110, 120 or at least one proximal electrical contact portion 131, 141, and this leads to a dysfunction of said at least one integrated circuit 101.
Then, said at least one protection layer 151 may be deposited partly or totally on said at least one integrated circuit 101, on said at least one secondary IC contact 120, on said at least one second proximal electrical contact portion 141 and on said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142.
Said at least one protection layer 151 may be cured 520 between 100° C. and 200° C., preferably between 130° C. and 170° C., during 2 minutes up to 45 minutes, preferably between 5 minutes and 15 minutes, and may turn into at least one degradable layer 155.
After that, said at least one first proximal electrical contact portion 131 may be deposited on and may contact said at least one primary IC contact 110 and said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 may be deposited on said at least one degradable layer 155 and may be above said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142, and thus said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 may be near said at least one secondary IC contact 120.
In case, said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 is mashed, said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142, and thus said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 may create a short circuit between said at least one primary IC contact 110 and said at least one secondary IC contact 120, and if said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 is peeled or harvested, said at least one degradable layer 155 may be altered or removed with said at least one first electrical contact 130, and said at least one secondary electrical contact 140 and said at least one primary IC contact 110 may be revealed, and said at least one integrated circuit 101 may be inoperable. Since said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 may be near or too close to said at least one primary IC contact 110, an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 may be prevented and an antenna may be not soldered on said at least one integrated circuit 101 without short circuited said at least one primary IC contact 110 and said at least one secondary IC contact 120 via said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142.
In
Then, said at least one first auxiliary electrical contact deposit 551 may take place. Said at least one primary electrical contact 115 may be deposited on said at least one integrated circuit 101 and on said at least one degradable layer 155. Indeed, said at least one primary electrical contact 115 may have said at least one undercut such as to be disconnected of said at least one primary IC contact 110 when said at least one degradable layer 155 is altered and/or removed. Thus, said at least one primary IC contact 110 and said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 may be uncovered such as to prevent an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 by short circuiting said at least one primary IC contact 110 and said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 and avoiding the soldering of an new antenna and rending said at least one integrated circuit 101 inoperable for example. Indeed, any attempt of harvesting prevents an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 by altering said at least one degradable layer 155 may prevent an assembly or a reassembly of said Tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 with an antenna due to a potential short circuit between said at least one first distal electrical contact portion 132 and said at least one secondary IC contact 120 and/or said at least one second distal electrical contact portion 142 and said at least one primary IC contact 110.
Said tamper-evident RFID Tag 100 of the third embodiment in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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21218213.3 | Dec 2021 | EP | regional |