WO2003107292A1 - Remote identification device - Google Patents

Remote identification device Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2003107292A1
WO2003107292A1 PCT/EP2003/006377 EP0306377W WO03107292A1 WO 2003107292 A1 WO2003107292 A1 WO 2003107292A1 EP 0306377 W EP0306377 W EP 0306377W WO 03107292 A1 WO03107292 A1 WO 03107292A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
antenna
transponder
support
integrated microcircuit
housing
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2003/006377
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Richard John Benn
Original Assignee
Gantle Trading & Services Lda
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Gantle Trading & Services Lda filed Critical Gantle Trading & Services Lda
Priority to AU2003276198A priority Critical patent/AU2003276198A1/en
Publication of WO2003107292A1 publication Critical patent/WO2003107292A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B13/00—Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
    • G08B13/22—Electrical actuation
    • G08B13/24—Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
    • G08B13/2402—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting
    • G08B13/2405—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting characterised by the tag technology used
    • G08B13/2408—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting characterised by the tag technology used using ferromagnetic tags
    • G08B13/2411—Tag deactivation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
    • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
    • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
    • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
    • G06K19/077—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
    • G06K19/07749—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
    • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
    • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
    • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
    • G06K19/077—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
    • G06K19/07749—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
    • G06K19/07758—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B13/00—Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
    • G08B13/22—Electrical actuation
    • G08B13/24—Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
    • G08B13/2402—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting
    • G08B13/2405—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting characterised by the tag technology used
    • G08B13/2414—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting characterised by the tag technology used using inductive tags
    • G08B13/2417—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting characterised by the tag technology used using inductive tags having a radio frequency identification chip
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B13/00—Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
    • G08B13/22—Electrical actuation
    • G08B13/24—Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
    • G08B13/2402—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting
    • G08B13/2428—Tag details
    • G08B13/2437—Tag layered structure, processes for making layered tags
    • G08B13/2445—Tag integrated into item to be protected, e.g. source tagging

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a remote identification device .
  • the present invention may be used to advantage for protecting retail articles against imitation and shoplifting, to which the following description refers purely by way of example.
  • transponders which can be provided with a programmable memory for storing a relatively large mass of data, unlike magnetic markers, which are normally limited to a presence-indicating function.
  • transponders have the drawback of being unreliable, by being put out of use when surrounded by a conducting metal element, such as aluminium foil, to shield the electric field.
  • transponders To be read at a suitable distance to prevent imitation and shoplifting, currently marketed transponders must be relatively large, which therefore makes them difficult to apply to the articles at the manufacturing stage.
  • a remote identification device as claimed in Claim 1.
  • the present invention also relates to a support for producing a remote identification device.
  • Figure 1 shows a schematic view in perspective of a remote identification device in accordance with the present invention
  • Figure 2 shows a further embodiment of the Figure 1 identification device
  • Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of the Figure 1 identification device.
  • Number 1 in Figure 1 indicates as a whole a remote identification device comprising a support 2 in the form of a label, i.e. much greater in width and length than in thickness. More specifically, remote identification device 1 falls within the category known commercially as "smart labels", which comprises identification devices in the form of a thin film and possibly with a surface printable on both sides. Smart-label identification devices can normally be made of various dielectric materials, such as paper, PVC, PET, and polyamide (the latter normally used for clothing labels) . Identification device 1 comprises a transponder 3 housed in a portion 4 of support 2; and a magnetic marker 5 housed in a portion 6 of support 2, longitudinally alongside portion 4. More specifically, support 2 in the accompanying drawings is 22 mm wide, 48 mm long, and less than 0.1 mm thick; portion 4 is 16 mm wide and 48 mm long; and portion 6 is 6 mm wide and 48 mm long.
  • Transponder 3 comprises an integrated microcircuit 7; and an antenna system 8 in turn comprising a flat, annular radiating " antenna 9 connected to integrated microcircuit 7. More specifically, antenna 9 is polygonal (rectangular in Figure 1) and covers the whole surface area of portion 4. In a different embodiment not shown, antenna 9 is fractal-shaped, e.g. in the form of a tree or Serpinski fractal, to increase its efficiency for a given covered surface area. Tests have shown the importance of maintaining a width to length ratio of antenna 9 of 1:2.7 to 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3, to achieve the best possible efficiency of antenna system 8.
  • Magnetic marker 5 comprises one or more wires 10, each of which comprises a combination of textile fibers and fibers of amorphous magnetic material with weak ferromagnetic or magnetostrictive properties, and is of the type described in Patent Application WO-0153575-A1 included herein by way of reference.
  • Wires 10 are extremely small (about 30 micron in diameter) , are mechanically strong, freely pliable and chemically resistant, and can be embedded in plastic material for improved heat and chemical protection.
  • Various types of textile fibers can be used, e.g. natural fibers (cotton, wool) , synthetic fibers (polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, nylon), and semisynthetic fibers.
  • wires 10 acting as identification elements are associated with an enabling/disabling element for enabling or disabling remote recognition of wires 10.
  • the enabling/disabling element is formed as described in Patent Application WO-9953458-A1 or WO- 0163577-A1, which are included herein by way of reference.
  • the enabling/disabling element may be selected from known magnetic marker disabling elements, such as low-permeability semisolid magnetic elements .
  • a further embodiment may employ a group of separate, substantially parallel wires 10 sized and arranged to form a remote-readable binary identification code .
  • identification device 1 can be applied easily to a respective article - in particular in the form of a label applied to an item of clothing - during manufacture of the article, by virtue of being small, mechanically strong, and printable on both sides, and, once applied to a respective article, may provide for safeguarding against shoplifting and imitation, and also for storing the history of the article.
  • the shoplifting function is substantially performed by magnetic marker 5, which indicates its presence and cannot be easily shielded; while the imitation and history-storing functions are performed by transponder 3, which has a programmable memory (typically programmable about 100,000 times) for storing a relatively large amount of data.
  • Magnetic marker 5 can be enabled and disabled repeatedly by the enabling/disabling element. More specifically, magnetic marker 5 is enabled when the article is displayed at the retail outlet, is disabled when the article is legitimately sold, and can be re- enabled if the article is returned to the retail outlet (e.g. to change the size of the article) .
  • FIGs 2 and 3 show two alternative embodiments of antenna system 8 to enhance the efficiency of antenna system 8 with substantially no change in the surface area of portion 4 of support 2.
  • antenna system 8 comprises flat, annular radiating antenna 9 connected to integrated microcircuit 7; and a flat, annular reflecting/directing antenna 11 having a capacitive tuning element 12.
  • reflecting/directing antenna 11 has no capacitive tuning element 12.
  • Radiating antenna 9 is coplanar with and surrounded by reflecting/directing antenna 11; and antennas 9 and 11 are designed to resonate at operating frequency, i.e. at the frequency of the RF (radio-frequency) field generated by a remote recognition device or so-called "reader" for remote reading/writing transponder 3.
  • Antennas 9 and 11 are located and oriented so that the effect of their mutual inductance is greater than that produced by the sum of their individual inductances, and so that the capacitances required for tuning to the operating frequency are more or less perfect .
  • Antennas 9 and 11 are polygonal (rectangular in Figure 2) .
  • antennas 9 and/or 11 are fractal-shaped, e.g. in the form of a tree or SerpinsTi fractal, to increase efficiency for a given covered surface area.
  • Antenna 11 covers the whole surface area of portion 4; while antenna 9 is located within antenna 11, and covers a surface area of 25% to 33% of the surface area of antenna 11.
  • the length ratio of the sides of antenna 9 can no longer be 1:3, and is substantially close to 1:1. Tests have shown the importance of maintaining a width to length ratio of antenna 11 of 1:2.7 to 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3, to achieve the best possible efficiency of antenna system 8.
  • the mutual arrangement of antennas 9 and 11 to achieve maximum efficiency of antenna system 8 can be determined experimentally, and has generally been found to be that in which integrated microcircuit 7 and capacitive element 12 are located close to each other (as shown in Figure 2) .
  • the alternative embodiment in Figure 3 employs a further reflecting/directing antenna 13 substantially identical with reflecting/directing antenna 11 and having a respective capacitive tuning element 14.
  • Antennas 11 and 13 are parallel, are positioned facing, but not coplanar with, each other, are separated by a given distance to achieve between them a relatively high capacitance, and function substantially like the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor.
  • Support 2 comprises three superimposed, firmly connected layers 15, 16 and 17; end layer 15 houses integrated microcircuit 7, antenna 9, magnetic marker 5 and ' antenna 11; " end layer 16 houses antenna 13; and intermediate layer 17 is located between end layers 15 and 16 to separate them and, if necessary, provide them with adequate mechanical support.
  • end layers 15 and 16 are made of respective plastic films (typically PVC, PET or polyamide) or paper; and intermediate layer 17 is made of a film of dielectric material, and is of a thickness, e.g. 0.02 to 0.08 mm, depending on the desired capacitance between antennas 11 and 13.
  • end layers 15 and 16 are made of respective plastic films (typically PVC, PET or polyamide) or paper; and intermediate layer 17 is made of a film of dielectric material, and is of a thickness, e.g. 0.02 to 0.08 mm, depending on the desired capacitance between antennas 11 and 13.
  • antennas 9 and 11 are sufficient to enable integrated microcircuit 7 to operate with antenna system 8 with no further capacitive elements connected parallel to antenna 9, the elimination of which provides for excellent reception/transmission characteristics of transponder 3, for steady performance (by eliminating dispersion due to the manufacturing tolerance in the capacitance value) , and for cheaper fabrication.
  • antennas 9, 11 and 13 are normally determined by testing to achieve the desired performance of antenna system 8.
  • portions 4 and 6 of support 2 can be separated along a parting line 18 to separate transponder 3 from magnetic marker 5 in the event transponder 3 and magnetic marker 5 are to be used separately or located in different positions on a respective article.
  • Identification device 1 described above has numerous advantages by being recognizable by both a transponder reading device and a conventional magnetic detector, and can therefore be used with existing security systems based exclusively on magnetic detectors. Moreover, identification device 1 is cheap and easy to produce and apply to articles, by virtue of the compact size of transponder 3, which also provides for highly efficient reception/transmission by virtue of the particular arrangement of antenna system 8 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Abstract

A remote identification device (1) has a support (2) in the form of a label and housing a magnetic marker (5) and a transponder (3), which is defined by an integrated microcircuit (7) and by an antenna system (8) connected to the integrated microcircuit (7); the antenna system (8) having a flat radiating first antenna (9) connected to the integrated microcircuit (7), and a flat reflecting/directing second antenna (11), which is parallel to and coplanar with the first antenna (9), surrounds the first antenna (9), and is designed to resonate at operating frequency with the first antenna (9).

Description

REMOTE IDENTIFICATION DEVICE
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a remote identification device .
The present invention may be used to advantage for protecting retail articles against imitation and shoplifting, to which the following description refers purely by way of example. BACKGROUND ART
In the retail business, there is increasing demand for a means of identifying articles at a distance, particularly for the purpose of preventing shoplifting. One of the most commonly used methods of preventing shoplifting is to use magnetic, magnetic-acoustic or chipless RF markers, which are either fixed permanently to the articles or can only be removed using specially designed tools not for sale to the public. At present, such markers are applied by retail operators, which poses various problems, by being relatively expensive, and by the marker normally being recognizable and therefore subject to tampering. As a result, there is increasing demand on the part of retailers for manufacturers to incorporate the markers in the articles at the production stage (so-called "source marking") .
A more recent development is to combine or replace magnetic markers with radio-frequency identification devices, in particular transponders, which can be provided with a programmable memory for storing a relatively large mass of data, unlike magnetic markers, which are normally limited to a presence-indicating function. On the other hand, transponders have the drawback of being unreliable, by being put out of use when surrounded by a conducting metal element, such as aluminium foil, to shield the electric field.
To be read at a suitable distance to prevent imitation and shoplifting, currently marketed transponders must be relatively large, which therefore makes them difficult to apply to the articles at the manufacturing stage.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote identification device designed to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks, and which, at the same time, is cheap and easy to produce, and is small enough to be applied easily to a respective article during manufacture of the article.
According to the present invention, there is provided a remote identification device as claimed in Claim 1. The present invention also relates to a support for producing a remote identification device.
According to the present invention, there is provided a support for producing a remote identification device and as claimed in Claim 23.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a transponder for producing a remote identification device, and which is designed to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks, while at the same time being cheap and easy to produce, and small enough to apply the remote identification device easily to a respective article during manufacture of the article.
According to the present invention, there is provided a transponder as claimed in Claim 2 . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A number of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a schematic view in perspective of a remote identification device in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a further embodiment of the Figure 1 identification device;
Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of the Figure 1 identification device.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Number 1 in Figure 1 indicates as a whole a remote identification device comprising a support 2 in the form of a label, i.e. much greater in width and length than in thickness. More specifically, remote identification device 1 falls within the category known commercially as "smart labels", which comprises identification devices in the form of a thin film and possibly with a surface printable on both sides. Smart-label identification devices can normally be made of various dielectric materials, such as paper, PVC, PET, and polyamide (the latter normally used for clothing labels) . Identification device 1 comprises a transponder 3 housed in a portion 4 of support 2; and a magnetic marker 5 housed in a portion 6 of support 2, longitudinally alongside portion 4. More specifically, support 2 in the accompanying drawings is 22 mm wide, 48 mm long, and less than 0.1 mm thick; portion 4 is 16 mm wide and 48 mm long; and portion 6 is 6 mm wide and 48 mm long.
Various tests have shown that the Figure 1 arrangement of portions 4 and 6 of support 2 enables both transponder 3 and magnetic marker 5 to operate independently with no harmful mutual interference.
Transponder 3 comprises an integrated microcircuit 7; and an antenna system 8 in turn comprising a flat, annular radiating" antenna 9 connected to integrated microcircuit 7. More specifically, antenna 9 is polygonal (rectangular in Figure 1) and covers the whole surface area of portion 4. In a different embodiment not shown, antenna 9 is fractal-shaped, e.g. in the form of a tree or Serpinski fractal, to increase its efficiency for a given covered surface area. Tests have shown the importance of maintaining a width to length ratio of antenna 9 of 1:2.7 to 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3, to achieve the best possible efficiency of antenna system 8.
Magnetic marker 5 comprises one or more wires 10, each of which comprises a combination of textile fibers and fibers of amorphous magnetic material with weak ferromagnetic or magnetostrictive properties, and is of the type described in Patent Application WO-0153575-A1 included herein by way of reference. Wires 10 are extremely small (about 30 micron in diameter) , are mechanically strong, freely pliable and chemically resistant, and can be embedded in plastic material for improved heat and chemical protection. Various types of textile fibers can be used, e.g. natural fibers (cotton, wool) , synthetic fibers (polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, nylon), and semisynthetic fibers.
In a preferred embodiment, wires 10 acting as identification elements are associated with an enabling/disabling element for enabling or disabling remote recognition of wires 10. In a preferred embodiment, the enabling/disabling element is formed as described in Patent Application WO-9953458-A1 or WO- 0163577-A1, which are included herein by way of reference. Alternatively, the enabling/disabling element may be selected from known magnetic marker disabling elements, such as low-permeability semisolid magnetic elements .
A further embodiment (not shown) may employ a group of separate, substantially parallel wires 10 sized and arranged to form a remote-readable binary identification code .
In actual use, identification device 1 can be applied easily to a respective article - in particular in the form of a label applied to an item of clothing - during manufacture of the article, by virtue of being small, mechanically strong, and printable on both sides, and, once applied to a respective article, may provide for safeguarding against shoplifting and imitation, and also for storing the history of the article. The shoplifting function is substantially performed by magnetic marker 5, which indicates its presence and cannot be easily shielded; while the imitation and history-storing functions are performed by transponder 3, which has a programmable memory (typically programmable about 100,000 times) for storing a relatively large amount of data. Magnetic marker 5 can be enabled and disabled repeatedly by the enabling/disabling element. More specifically, magnetic marker 5 is enabled when the article is displayed at the retail outlet, is disabled when the article is legitimately sold, and can be re- enabled if the article is returned to the retail outlet (e.g. to change the size of the article) .
Figures 2 and 3 show two alternative embodiments of antenna system 8 to enhance the efficiency of antenna system 8 with substantially no change in the surface area of portion 4 of support 2.
In Figure 2, antenna system 8 comprises flat, annular radiating antenna 9 connected to integrated microcircuit 7; and a flat, annular reflecting/directing antenna 11 having a capacitive tuning element 12. In an alternative embodiment not shown, reflecting/directing antenna 11 has no capacitive tuning element 12. Radiating antenna 9 is coplanar with and surrounded by reflecting/directing antenna 11; and antennas 9 and 11 are designed to resonate at operating frequency, i.e. at the frequency of the RF (radio-frequency) field generated by a remote recognition device or so-called "reader" for remote reading/writing transponder 3. Antennas 9 and 11 are located and oriented so that the effect of their mutual inductance is greater than that produced by the sum of their individual inductances, and so that the capacitances required for tuning to the operating frequency are more or less perfect . Antennas 9 and 11 are polygonal (rectangular in Figure 2) . In a different embodiment not shown, antennas 9 and/or 11 are fractal-shaped, e.g. in the form of a tree or SerpinsTi fractal, to increase efficiency for a given covered surface area. Antenna 11 covers the whole surface area of portion 4; while antenna 9 is located within antenna 11, and covers a surface area of 25% to 33% of the surface area of antenna 11. Obviously, in this embodiment, the length ratio of the sides of antenna 9 can no longer be 1:3, and is substantially close to 1:1. Tests have shown the importance of maintaining a width to length ratio of antenna 11 of 1:2.7 to 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3, to achieve the best possible efficiency of antenna system 8. The mutual arrangement of antennas 9 and 11 to achieve maximum efficiency of antenna system 8 can be determined experimentally, and has generally been found to be that in which integrated microcircuit 7 and capacitive element 12 are located close to each other (as shown in Figure 2) .
The alternative embodiment in Figure 3 employs a further reflecting/directing antenna 13 substantially identical with reflecting/directing antenna 11 and having a respective capacitive tuning element 14. Antennas 11 and 13 are parallel, are positioned facing, but not coplanar with, each other, are separated by a given distance to achieve between them a relatively high capacitance, and function substantially like the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor. Support 2 comprises three superimposed, firmly connected layers 15, 16 and 17; end layer 15 houses integrated microcircuit 7, antenna 9, magnetic marker 5 and' antenna 11;" end layer 16 houses antenna 13; and intermediate layer 17 is located between end layers 15 and 16 to separate them and, if necessary, provide them with adequate mechanical support.
Preferably, end layers 15 and 16 are made of respective plastic films (typically PVC, PET or polyamide) or paper; and intermediate layer 17 is made of a film of dielectric material, and is of a thickness, e.g. 0.02 to 0.08 mm, depending on the desired capacitance between antennas 11 and 13. Using further reflecting/directing antenna 13 as an inductor resonating at operating frequency increases the efficiency of antenna system 8 as a whole by accurately determining the frequencies and by increasing efficiency by mutual capacitance. The mutual inductance of antennas 9 and 11 is sufficient to enable integrated microcircuit 7 to operate with antenna system 8 with no further capacitive elements connected parallel to antenna 9, the elimination of which provides for excellent reception/transmission characteristics of transponder 3, for steady performance (by eliminating dispersion due to the manufacturing tolerance in the capacitance value) , and for cheaper fabrication.
The size, shape and position of antennas 9, 11 and 13 are normally determined by testing to achieve the desired performance of antenna system 8.
As shown in the accompanying drawings, in use, portions 4 and 6 of support 2 can be separated along a parting line 18 to separate transponder 3 from magnetic marker 5 in the event transponder 3 and magnetic marker 5 are to be used separately or located in different positions on a respective article.
Identification device 1 described above has numerous advantages by being recognizable by both a transponder reading device and a conventional magnetic detector, and can therefore be used with existing security systems based exclusively on magnetic detectors. Moreover, identification device 1 is cheap and easy to produce and apply to articles, by virtue of the compact size of transponder 3, which also provides for highly efficient reception/transmission by virtue of the particular arrangement of antenna system 8 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Claims

1) A remote identification device comprising a support (2) , and a transponder (3) housed in the support (2) and having an integrated microcircuit (7) and an antenna system (8) connected to the integrated microcircuit (7) ; the identification device (1) being characterized by comprising a magnetic marker (5) housed in the support (2) .
2) A device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the magnetic marker (5) comprises a number of wires (10) , each of which comprises a combination of textile fibers and fibers of amorphous magnetic material with weak ferromagnetic or magnetostrictive properties.
3) A device as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the wires (10) acting as identification elements are associated with an enabling/disabling element (12) for enabling or disabling remote recognition of the wires (10) .
4) A device as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the wires (10) are separate and arranged substantially parallel; and the size and arrangement of the wires (10) are such as to form a remote-readable binary identification code.
5) A device as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein said support (2) is in the form of a label, and comprises two side by side portions (4, 6) ; a first portion (4) housing the transponder (3) , and a second portion (6) housing the magnetic marker (5) ; each portion (4; 6) being rectangular, with two short sides and two long sides; and the first and second portion (4, 6) being located side by side along two respective long sides of the same size.
6) A device as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the ratio between the short side and the long side of the first portion (4) housing the transponder (3) ranges between 1:2.7 and 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3.
7) A device as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the antenna system (8) comprises a flat radiating first antenna (9) connected to the integrated microcircuit (7) .
8) A device as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the first antenna (9) has no capacitive elements connected parallel to the first antenna (9) .
9) A device as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the first antenna (9) is polygonal.
10) A device as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the first antenna (9) is fractal-shaped. 11) A device as claimed in one of Claims 7 to 10, wherein the first antenna (9) covers a rectangular surface area with a ratio between the short side and the long side ranging between 1:2.7 and 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3. 12) A device as claimed in one of Claims 7 to 10, wherein the antenna system (8) comprises a flat reflecting/directing second antenna (11) , which is parallel to and coplanar with the first antenna (9) , surrounds the first antenna (9) , and is designed to resonate at operating frequency with the first antenna (9) .
13) A device as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the first and the second antenna (9, 11) are positioned and oriented so that the effect of their mutual inductance is greater than the effect produced by the sum of their single inductances, and the capacitances required for tuning to the operating frequency are more or less perfect .
14) A device as claimed in Claim 12 or 13, wherein the first antenna (9) is located within the second antenna (11) , and covers a surface area ranging between 25% and 33% of the surface area of the second antenna (11) .
15) A device as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the second antenna (11) comprises a capacitive element (12) ; the first antenna (9) being so located that the integrated microcircuit (7) of the transponder (3) and the capacitive element (12) of the second antenna (11) are close to each other.
16) A device as claimed in one of Claims 12 to 15, wherein the ^second antenna ~ (11) " covers a rectangular surface area with a ratio between the short side and the long side ranging between 1:2.7 and 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3.
17) A device as claimed in Claim 16, wherein the second antenna (11) is polygonal. 18) A device as claimed in Claim 16, wherein the second antenna (11) is fractal-shaped.
19) A device as claimed in one of Claims 12 to 18, wherein the antenna system (8) comprises a flat reflecting/directing third antenna (13) , which is substantially identical with the second antenna (11) , is parallel to and faces the second antenna (11) , and is separated by a given distance from the second antenna
(11). 20) A device as claimed in Claim 19, wherein said support (2) comprises three superimposed, firmly connected layers (15, 16, 17) ; a first end layer (15) housing the integrated microcircuit (7) , the first antenna (9) , and the second antenna (11) ; a second end layer (16) housing the third antenna (13) ; and an intermediate layer (17) of dielectric material being located between the end layers (15, 16) to keep the end layers (15, 16) separate.
21) A device as claimed in Claim 20, wherein the magnetic marker (5) is housed in one of the end layers
(15, 16) .
22) A device as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 21, wherein the support (2) is made of polyamide.
23) A support (2) for producing a remote identification device (1) of the type described in Claims
1 to 22; the support (2) housing an antenna system (8) connectable to an integrated microcircuit (7) to form a transponder (3) ; and the support (2) being characterized by comprising a magnetic marker (5) housed in the support (2) .
24) A transponder (3) having an integrated microcircuit (7) and an antenna system (8) , both housed in a support (2) ; the antenna system (8) comprising a flat radiating first antenna (9) connected to the integrated microcircuit (7) ; and the transponder (3) being characterized in that the antenna system (8) comprises a flat reflecting/directing second antenna (11) , which is parallel to and coplanar with the first antenna (9) , surrounds the first antenna (9) , and is designed to resonate at operating frequency with the first antenna (9) .
25) A transponder as claimed in Claim 24, wherein the first and the second antenna (9, 11) are positioned and oriented so that their mutual inductance is greater than the sum of their single inductances, and the capacitances required for tuning to the operating frequency are more or less perfect. 26) A transponder as claimed in Claim 24 or 25, wherein the first antenna (9) is located within the second antenna (11) , and covers a surface area ranging between 25% and 33% of the surface area of the second antenna (11) . 27) A transponder as claimed in Claim 26, wherein the second antenna (11) comprises a capacitive element (12) ; the first antenna (9) being so located that the integrated microcircuit (7) of the transponder (3) and the capacitive element (12) of the second antenna (11) are close to each other.
28) A transponder as claimed in one of Claims 24 to 27, wherein the second antenna (11) covers a rectangular surface area with a ratio between the short side and the long side ranging between 1:2.7 and 1:3.2, with a typical value of 1:3.
29) A transponder as claimed in Claim 28, wherein the second antenna (11) is polygonal. 30) A transponder as claimed in Claim 28, wherein the second antenna (11) is fractal-shaped.
31) A transponder as claimed in one of Claims 24 to 30, wherein the antenna system (8) comprises a flat reflecting/directing third antenna (13) , which is substantially identical with the second antenna (11) , is parallel to and faces the second antenna (11) , and is separated by a given distance from the second antenna (11) .
32) A transponder as claimed in Claim 31, wherein said support (2) comprises three superimposed, firmly connected layers (15, 16, 17) ; a first end layer (15) housing the integrated microcircuit (7) , the first antenna (9), and ~the second antenna (11); a second end layer (16) housing the third antenna (13) ; and an intermediate layer (17) of dielectric material being located between the end layers (15, 16) .
33) A transponder as claimed in one of Claims 24 to 30, wherein the support (2) is made of polyamide.
PCT/EP2003/006377 2002-06-18 2003-06-17 Remote identification device WO2003107292A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2003276198A AU2003276198A1 (en) 2002-06-18 2003-06-17 Remote identification device

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PT102793 2002-06-18
PT10279302A PT102793A (en) 2002-06-18 2002-06-18 DEVICE FOR INDIVIDUALIZED IDENTIFICATION OF REMOTE ITEMS

Publications (1)

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WO2003107292A1 true WO2003107292A1 (en) 2003-12-24

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AU (1) AU2003276198A1 (en)
PT (1) PT102793A (en)
WO (1) WO2003107292A1 (en)

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EP1548639A1 (en) * 2003-12-25 2005-06-29 Hitachi, Ltd. Wireless IC tag, and method and apparatus for manufacturing the same

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EP1548674A1 (en) * 2003-12-25 2005-06-29 Hitachi, Ltd. Radio IC tag, method and apparatus for manufacturing the same
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AU2003276198A1 (en) 2003-12-31

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