Eastman-kodak Company

Edward Zogg

Mark P Hinman

Abhishek Sharma

Donald Saul Rimai

James Alan Katerberg

Christopher J White

Gary W Schum

Gaylynn F Durkin

Cindy A Bauman

Apparatus for reading an RFID tag includes an RF-blocking enclosure having a port and adapted to receive through the port a non-RFID-active object having an RFID tag affixed thereto. An RFID reader has a reader antenna located outside the enclosure. The antenna transmits an RF downlink signal in a particular direction. An RF grating is arranged between the reader antenna and the port so that, after the enclosure receives the object having the tag, the port is located in the transmit direction from the reader antenna, and RF energy transmitted from the reader antenna has a selected linear polarization after passing through the grating.

RFID reading system using RF grating

A method of verifying the identification of fluids to be supplied successively through a fluid-supply hose that selectively connects to successive movable, RFID-tagged fluid containers includes providing an RFID reading unit including an antenna. A sequence of reference container identification codes is received. A container-present indication indicating one of the containers is positioned so that its RFID tag is in the antenna range is received. In response, the RFID tag of that container is read using the RFID reading unit to determine an identification code of the container. A controller automatically verifies the determined container identification code against the first reference identification code in the sequence using a controller. The starting through verifying steps are repeated, using successive values from the sequence in the verifying step, until all values in the sequence have been verified against container identification codes read using the RFID reading unit.

Verifying identification of sequentially supplied fluids

A method of reading an RFID tag using an RFID reader includes providing an RF-blocking enclosure having a port. The RFID reader has an antenna located within the enclosure. The enclosure is positioned so that the port is adjacent to a conductive surface and the RFID tag is within the enclosure. The RFID reader is activated at a selected read power level to read the tag in the enclosure.

Reading RFID tag using antenna within enclosure

An active RFID tag has an antenna inside RF-blocking enclosure having a port with a selected shortest dimension. An RFID reader located outside the enclosure at a reader position transmits a downlink RF signal through the port as a directional RF signal on a downlink carrier frequency corresponding to a downlink wavelength smaller than the selected shortest dimension. The port is selectively configured so that the directional downlink RF signal can pass through the port in an access mode during a selected access time interval and are attenuated by at least 60 dB in a restricted mode during a selected restricted time interval that does not overlap with the access time interval.

RFID system with configurable RF port

Non-RFID-active units in a space are marked by affixing RFID tags. Two tags are affixed to each unit, each tag having a directional antenna. The antennas are oriented to define a per-unit reader location. Units are arranged in the space so the per-unit reader locations at least partially overlap to define a reader location. The units in the space can also be detected by an RFID reader located in the overlapping per-unit reader locations. A controller can compare a received list of tag identities corresponding to units expected to be in the container to the identities of the tags read to determine whether the expected units are in the container and disposed at positions and with orientations that cause the respective per-unit reader locations to at least partially overlap with the reader location.

RFID marking of units in a space

A replenishable merchandising display requires the product to be displayed for sale be loaded into modular receptacles at the manufacturer and that a merchandising display for receiving the modular receptacles be shipped to a retailer. The retailer then loads the modular receptacles containing product into the merchandising display and eventually replenishes the merchandising display once the product is depleted.

Growing community of inventors

Ontario, NY, United States of America

Edward Zogg