Bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic tag devices

Abstract

An apparatus for bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic tag devices includes first and second coil assemblies each including one or more coils defining respective openings to permit passage of a receptacle along a pathway of a conveyance, extending along a first orthogonal direction. The first and second coil assemblies respectively generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction and at least one primary component along a second direction. The at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, or a second or third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, while the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the orthogonal directions.

Description

Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)BULK DEACTIVATION OF ACOUSTO-MAGNETIC TAG DEVICESCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 683,355, filed on August 15, 2024, titled “BULK DEACTIVATION OF ACOUSTO- MAGNETIC TAG DEVICES” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 683,397, filed on August 15, 2024, titled “THERMAL MANAGEMENT IN BULK DEACTIVATION OF ACOUSTO-MAGNETIC TAG DEVICES.” The disclosures of these prior applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.BACKGROUND

[0002] With the proliferation of source tagging as a strategy for loss prevention for retail and multi-channel commerce for consumer products marketing and distribution, there is a need to deactivate electronic article surveillance (EAS) acousto-magnetic (AM) tag / label devices in bulk for channels such as e-commerce which does not have any means to disable AM tag / label devices already embedded in the packaging of the merchandise. If the AM tag / label devices were left unattended and still in their active state after acquisition by the consumer, those labels could be carried by the consumer and taken back to the store and trigger alarm in a premises with EAS detector. This type of unwanted and unintended alarm is sometimes called “tag pollution.” The result could be embarrassment, confusion, loss of store personnel time to deal with false-positive alarms, loss of customers, or even false apprehension. Therefore, deactivation in bulk of the source tagged merchandise in the logistic chain before delivery to stores without EAS equipment or to end customers through ecommerce channels may be desirable.

[0003] In addition, with the proliferation of warehouse style stores and self-checkout in retail establishments, an increasing number of transactions have been handled by shoppers who are not trained to deactivate AM tag / label devices. An increasing number of transactions occur not at a localized point of sale (POS) but via mobile devices throughout stores, where installation of deactivation devices is not appropriate. An efficient way to handle deactivation is through a bulk deactivation mechanism located in an effective position for deactivation when a shopper exits the store, as enabled by proof of purchase.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0004] Therefore, several technical challenges remain in technologies for deactivation of AM tag / label devices in bulk. Improved technologies that address these technical challenges may be desired.SUMMARY

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0006] An example aspect includes an apparatus for bulk deactivation of acousto- magnetic tag devices.

[0007] In an aspect, the apparatus includes a first and second coil assembly. The first coil assembly is positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment and including one or more first coils, defining a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment that extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction. The second coil assembly is positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment and includes one or more second coils, defining a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction. The at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

[0008] In another aspect, the apparatus includes a first coil assembly covering a first section of conveyance equipment and a second coil assembly covering a second section of the conveyance equipment, the second section being adjacent to the first section. Additionally, the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of theDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) conveyance equipment. Additionally, each one of the one or more first coils is configured to generate a first magnetic field having a field component along a first direction parallel to the transportation pathway and another field component along a second direction perpendicular to the transportation pathway. Additionally, the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, where the second opening is commensurate with the first opening. Additionally, each one of the one or more second coils is configured to generate a second magnetic field having a field component along the first direction and another field component along a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

[0009] Another example aspect includes a method of thermal management in bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic tag devices comprising updating a counter indicative of a number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in a deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic (AM) tag / label devices. The method further includes determining, based on the updating, that the counter is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The method further includes causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation.

[0010] Another example aspect includes a method of thermal management in bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic tag devices comprising updating a first metric representative of heat dissipated by a first deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic (AM) tag / label devices, with the first metric being based on time and number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in the deactivation apparatus. The method further includes determining, based on the updating, that a value of the first metric is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. The method further includes causing the first deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation. The method further includes sending an indication to a second deactivation apparatus to initiate bulk deactivation of second AM tag / label devices.

[0011] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more example aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain their principles and implementations.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a view of examples of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of tilted coils (fore) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested rotated coils (aft), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 3 is two-dimensional line plot of percentage AM label orientation successfully deactivated out of all orientations for various arrangements of coils with coils assemblies present in a tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a side view of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus including a coil assembly having nested pair of tilted coils, where magnetic field coverage is sufficient to deactivate AM tags / labels present in a receptacle traversing the deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 5 is top view of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus including a coil assembly having nested pair of rotated coils, where magnetic field coverage is sufficient to deactivate the AM tags / labels, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 6 is a view of an example arrangement of antennas / coils, support structure, and conveyance system, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 7A is a view of a customized conveyor bed with (i) brackets and short idler rollers to provide clearance for coil assemblies and (ii) an example interface of idler roller to conveyor rail with plastic bushing for electrical isolation, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 7B is an exploded view of another example interface of idler roller to conveyor rail with plastic bushing for electrical isolation, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0021] FIG. 8A illustrates brackets and short idler rollers to provide clearance for coil assemblies present in a tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 8B also illustrates brackets and short idler rollers to provide clearance for coil assemblies present in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 9 is a top view of conveyor using short idler roller and stainless steel brackets to provide clearance for coil assemblies present in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 10 is a view of an example arrangement of coils, support structure, and a section of conveyance system, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 11 is a view of a housing covering an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus and defining a passage for transportation of receptable through the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, where such apparatus has an example arrangement of coil assemblies, support structure, and a section of conveyance equipment, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of cascading deactivation system including two AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 13 illustrates examples of coil assemblies that are part of AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses included in a cascading deactivation system, each one of the coil assemblies is affixed to a conveyor bed of a conveyance system, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of control elements of a cascading deactivation system, in accordance with one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 15 illustrates an example thermal profile 1510 of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus during deactivation, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 16 illustrates an example thermal profile 1610 of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus during cooling, after deactivation has ceased, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 17A is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having parallel set of coils (fore) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested rotated coils (aft), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0032] FIG. 17B is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a pair of nested rotated coils (fore) and another coil assembly having parallel set of coils (aft), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 18A is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a pair of nested tilted coils (fore) and another coil assembly having parallel set of coils (aft), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 18B is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having parallel set of coils (fore) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested tilted coils (aft), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 19 is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of rotated coils (interior) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested tilted coils (exterior), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 20 is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of rotated coils (interior) and another coil assembly having a pair of parallel coils (exterior), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 21 is a view of an example of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of tilted coils (exterior) and another coil assembly having a pair of parallel coils (interior), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] This disclosure recognizes and addresses, among other technical challenges, the issue of deactivation of EAS AM tag / label devices. A straightforward and commonplace approach for deactivation of an AM tag / label device includes using three sets of orthogonal coil pairs to create field volume of sufficient magnitude in three orthogonal directions to cover the volume of a box placed inside the coils with one pulse for each orientation / set. The resulting coil arrangement of such a commonplace approach would be big with many turns to deliver energy in the volume corresponding to the size of the box. The three orthogonal sets of coils are to cover all label orientations. Because the energy must cover the volume of the box, it is much higher than the multiple pulses approach in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. The high energy consumption of the commonplace approach requires bigger and heavier coils and more energy storage components, and also presents a substantial risk of overheating the coils.

[0039] Further, relying on an existing AM tag / label device deactivation device may be inadequate for bulk deactivation. Such a device can provide an adequate decayingDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) magnetic field to demagnetize a bias element of an AM tag / label device and cause deactivation. However, in bulk deactivation, larger field coils are necessary due to the size of receptacles that contain the AM tag / label devices to be deactivated. As field coils are increased in size while constraining the amount of energy delivered to a field coil to that used in existing deactivation devices, the magnetic field generated by the field coils can collapse, thus leaving many regions within the receptacle with insufficient magnetic field for deactivation.

[0040] Embodiments of the technologies described in this disclosure, individually or in combination, provide efficient and effective deactivation of AM tag / label devices in bulk. More specifically, in some aspects, a tag / label deactivation apparatus for bulk deactivation form a tunnel of sufficient size to allow passage of a receptable (e.g., a box or basket) of merchandise via a conveyance equipment, where the merchandise has attached thereto AM tag / label devices. Tag / label deactivation apparatuses in accordance with aspects of this disclosure include multiple coil assemblies. Each coil assembly includes one or more coils configured to generate magnetic fields and defined an opening that permits passage of a receptable. In some cases, the opening permits passage of a box; for example, a large box having dimensions of 80 cm x 60 cm x 40 cm. Aspects of this disclosure can reduce the number of coils present in a tag / label apparatus, and can thus reduce or minimize the number of controller devices used to generate an appropriate field coverage for labels orientated randomly inside the tunnel. Within the tunnel, the passage of the receptacle or sensing of an active AM tag / label device, or both, can be used to cause the generation of deactivation fields.

[0041] The approach to bulk deactivation that is used in this disclosure includes the creation of a region of magnetic field with adequate and uniform magnitude and adequate coverage of most all (if not all) orientations of AM tag / label devices present in a receptable. Such a region is created by energizing a coil field with a pulse of current. Although a single pulse of current may not provide field coverage for an entire receptacle, pulses can be repeated as the receptacle traverses the tunnel via a conveyance equipment. Such repetition permits achieving deactivation of an AM tag / label devices contained in the receptacle.

[0042] Aspects of this disclosure provides several improvements over existing technologies for deactivation of AM tag / label devices. For example, aspects of the tag / label deactivation apparatuses of this disclosure provide more compact coil structureDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) and reduced, or even minimal, number of energy storage devices used for the generation of magnetic fields.

[0043] For commonplace approaches, a simple choice of a field coil is a solenoidal coil wrap along the direction of travel (x direction, for example) of the box because the configuration does not interfere with the entry and exit of the box. Instead of a solenoidal coil, the field coil could be a coil pair or multiple coils connected in phase and in series placed along the length of the tunnel. To cover the orthogonal orientations, coil pairs left and right (y field direction in FIG. 1, for example) and top and bottom (z field direction, for example) can be used. The issue is that the reach of those coils is only about 20 cm, based on the energy storage capacity of the existing deactivation device. While the range makes it possible to cover some of the span of a large box (e.g., a 40 cm height of the box), the range is inadequate for other spans of the large box (e.g., the 60 cm width of the box). Further, in commonplace approaches, substantial energy must be delivered to obtain the field level sufficient to deactivate AM tag / label devices, with ensuing higher capacitance capacitor and / or higher capacitor voltage, which results in sizeable charging time.

[0044] Aspects of the tag / label deactivation apparatuses of this disclosure not only provide adequate magnetic field coverage for large boxes or other types of receptacles, but the tag / label deactivation apparatuses incorporate appropriate space allowance for the box or receptable to move through and allow additional space for a frame or other structure to support and protect the coil assemblies that generate magnetic field used for bulk deactivation. Aspects of the tag / label deactivation apparatuses also provide efficient used of energy resources.

[0045] Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details.

[0046] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a bulk deactivation system for bulk deactivation of AM tag / labels, in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. The example bulk deactivation system 100 includes an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 having a first coil assembly 132a and a second coil assembly 132b. The first coil assembly 132a covers a first section of conveyance equipment 120, and the second coil assembly 132b covers a second section of the conveyance equipment 120. The secondDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) section is adjacent to the first section. Examples ofthe conveyance equipment 120 include belt conveyors and powered roller conveyors.

[0047] The first coil assembly 132a including multiple first coils (not depicted in FIG 1) and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle 110 along a transportation pathway ofthe conveyance equipment 120. The receptable 110 (e.g., a large box) contains multiple AM tag / label devices. Three objects of different shapes are shown inside the receptable 110 simply for illustrative purposes. Respective AM tag / label devices are attached to the three objects, each AM tag / label device represented by a solid rectangle. As is depicted, the AM tag / label devices attached to the three objects may be oriented in different directions. The disclosure is, of course, not limited to three objects within the receptable 110, and more or fewer objects can be retained within the receptacle 110, with respective AM tag / label devices attached thereto. At least some of those AM tag / label devices may be oriented in different directions. Each one of the multiple first coils is configured to generate a first magnetic field having a field component along a first direction parallel to the transportation pathway (e.g., x direction) and another field component along a second direction (e.g., z direction) perpendicular to the transportation pathway.

[0048] The second coil assembly 132b includes multiple second coils (not depicted in FIG. 1) and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle 110. The second opening is commensurate with the first opening. Each one of the multiple second coils is configured to generate a second magnetic field having a field component along the first direction (e.g., x direction) and another field component along a third direction (e.g., y direction) perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

[0049] In some cases, as described in greater detail below, the first coil assembly 132a comprises a first rectangular coil and a second rectangular coil nested with one another at a defined angle. (See FIG. 2, simply as an illustration.) A plane containing the first rectangular coil and a plane containing the second rectangular coil are tilted relative to the transportation pathway. Further, or in other cases, the second coil assembly 132b includes in a third rectangular coil and a fourth rectangular coil nested with one another at a defined angle. (See FIG. 2 also, simply as an illustration.) A plane containing the third rectangular coil and a plane containing the fourth rectangular coil are essentially rotated relative to the transportation pathway. In other words, in the present disclosure where a transportation pathway is along an x-axis, “tilted” can be understood as defined by a plane rotated about a y-axis so that the plane intersects a z-axis and the x-axis (i.e.,Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) is not perpendicular or parallel to the z-axis or the x-axis), while “rotated” can be understood as defined by a plane rotated about the z-axis, so that the plane intersects the x-axis and the y-axis (i.e., is not perpendicular or parallel to the x-axis or the y-axis).

[0050] To cover the first section and second section of the conveyance equipment 120, the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 includes a structure (e.g., a frame or semiopen cage) mounted to a section of the conveyance equipment 120. That section spans the first section and the second section. The first coil assembly 132a is mounted to the structure 134 via one or more mounting members 136a. The second coil assembly 132b is mounted to the structure 134 via one or more mounting members 136b. Two mounting members 136a and two mounting members 136b are shown simply for the sake of illustration. The disclosure is, of course, not limited in that respect.

[0051] Besides being mounted to the structure 134, respective portions of each one of the first coil assembly 132a and the second coil assembly 132b passes through a conveyor (or conveyor bed) of the conveyance equipment 120. The conveyor spans the first section and the second section. In some cases, the conveyor includes one or more of drive rollers mechanically coupled with at least one rail of the conveyor; idle rollers mechanically coupled with the at least one rail; or a belt. Such rollers and the belt are assembled to carry objects, such as the receptacle 110, along the transportation pathway. As such, to permit passage of the respective portions of the first coil assembly 132a and the second coil assembly 132b, each roller in a subset of the drive rollers or a subset of the idle rollers is mounted to a particular rail of the at least one rail and is electrically insulated from the particular rail. The subset of the drive rollers and the subset of the idle rollers spans the first section and the second section.

[0052] To cause deactivation of AM tag / label devices within the receptable 110, a trigger mechanism is needed to generate appropriate magnetic fields within the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130. Deactivation of an AM tag / level device according to the trigger mechanism other than from the detection of the AM EAS response can be referred to as forced deactivation.

[0053] The trigger mechanism can be based on detection of the receptacle within the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130. To that end, the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 has multiple sensor devices disposed at respective positions along the transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment 120. The multiple sensor devices, individually or in combination, can determine a position of the receptacle 110 within the section that spans the first section associated with the first coil assembly 132a and the second sectionDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) associated with the second coil assembly 132b. The multiple sensor devices include a first sensor device 138a and a second sensor device 138b. Each one of the multiple sensor devices can be one of a beam-break sensor device or another type of photodetector device (e.g., an infrared or visible photo eye), a camera device, a laser, a density measurement device, a pulse laser distance measurement device, and the like.

[0054] The AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 can use data signals and / or control signals generated by at least one of the sensor devices in order to energize a coil within a coil assembly. More specifically, the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 includes a control unit 140. The control unit 140 can receive, from a first sensor of the multiple sensors, an indication that a first edge of the receptacle 110 is at a particular position within the first section associated with the first coil assembly 132a. In response to receiving such an indication, the control unit 140 can cause one or more energy storage devices to energize the multiple first coils in sequence. Each one of the multiple first coils is energized for a defined duration. Energizing a particular coil of the multiple first coils includes applying a current waveform to the particular coil for the defined duration. In other words, in response to receptacle 110 passing through the first section, the control unit 140 can apply a sequence of current pulses to respective ones of the multiple coils present in the first coil assembly 132a.

[0055] The control unit 140 can include a controller device that has a reliable repeated deactivation period of 400 ms (0.4 s), for example. Thus, a speed of the conveyance equipment 120 can be adjusted to provide a deactivation pulse at a desired receptable displacement step. For example, if it is desired that the deactivation pulse should be burst when the receptacle 110 has moved by 120 mm, the speed of a conveyor (e.g., a driver roller or a belt) of the conveyance equipment 120 can be set to 120 mm / 0.4 s = 300 mm / s.

[0056] In some cases, a deactivation pulse has a short duration of less than 20 ms out of the repetition deactivation period of 400 ms. Therefore, it is unlikely that the deactivation pulse in coil(s) (e.g., tilted coils) in the first coil assembly 132a overlaps another deactivation pulse in the coil(s) (e.g., rotated coils) in the second coil assembly 132b. To account for the unlikely event that those pulses overlap, the first coil assembly 132 and the second coil assembly 132b can be separated by a defined distance (as is shown in FIG. 1) so that a coil from a coil assembly and another coil from the other coils assembly do not interact with each other, thereby affecting the deactivation current measurably. In one example implementation, a separation of 228 mm between the first coil assembly 132a and the second coil assembly 132b provides sufficient separation.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0057] The control unit 140 also can receive, from the first sensor, a second indication that a second edge of the receptacle 110 has passed the particular position within the first section that caused a sequence of deactivation pulses. The second edge is opposite the first edge. In response to receiving the second indication, the control unit 140 can cause the one or more energy storage devices to cease energizing the multiple first coils.

[0058] Deactivation pulses in the second coil assembly 132b can be provided in similar fashion. To that point, the control unit 140 can receive, from a second sensor of the multiple sensors, a second indication that the first edge of the receptacle 110 is at a particular position within the second section associated with the second coil assembly. In response to receiving the second indication, the control unit 140 can cause the one or more energy storage devices in the power supply 150 to energize the multiple second coils in the second coil assembly 132b in sequence, each one of the multiple second coils being energized for the defined duration. Energizing a particular coil of the multiple second coils includes applying a current waveform to the particular coil for the defined duration.

[0059] The AM tag / level deactivation apparatus 130 also can trigger termination of forced deactivation, in response to the receptacle 110 no longer inside the tunnel. One of the multiple sensor devices can be placed at an appropriate position at the exit of the tunnel to detect the exit of the receptacle 110. In some cases, rather than having a dedicated sensor device that detects exit of the receptacle 110, the second sensor device that detects the receptacle 110 in the second section also can be used to detect that the receptacle 110 has exited the tunnel.

[0060] Thus, the control unit 140 can receive, from the second sensor, a third indication that the second edge of the receptacle 110 has passed the particular position within the second section. In response to receiving such an indication, the control unit 140 can cause the one or more energy storage devices to cease energizing the multiple second coils.

[0061] It is noted that with receptacles of varying sizes, there may still be a small portion at the tail end of the receptacle that has not been subjected to a deactivation pulse even though the second edge was detected signifying the exit of the receptable from the coil assembly. In such a scenario, the control unit 140 can add a delay before terminating forced deactivation. The delay can be configured according to speed setting of the conveyor of the conveyance equipment 120. In addition, or in other cases, the control unit 140 can add an additional deactivation pulse which can ensure coverage of the entire receptacle 110.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0062] A deactivation scheme that includes that additional deactivation pulse can be referred to as “n+1 pulse” deactivation scheme, simply for the sake of nomenclature. The “n” deactivation pulses are driven by receptacle detection when the second sensor device transitions to a high state, and cease upon or after the receptacle 110 exits the tunnel and the second sensor device transition to a low state. The control unit 140 then adds another pulse after the second sensor device has transitioned to the low state in order to ensure coverage of receptacles of many sizes. This “n+1 pulse” deactivation scheme provides another improvement of filtering out glitches in sensing by the second sensor device. Specifically, the control unit 140 would not terminate forced deactivation immediately when experiencing the glitch, although the glitch falsely signals that the receptacle 110 has already exited the tunnel. Instead, the control unit 140 can provide the addition “plus one” deactivation pulse. For the next deactivation cycle, the glitch has likely passed and the control unit 140 can determine that the receptacle 110 is present for a next deactivation cycle. Consequently, the control unit 140 can continue with the deactivation and dismiss a previous temporary drop in detection.

[0063] As described herein, the control unit 140 can include multiple control devices (not depicted in FIG. 1) each having two or more control channels. As such, coil(s) in the first coil assembly 132a can be controlled by a particular one of the multiple control devices, where the control channels can be configured to operate at least one respective coil of the coil(s). Further, coil(s) in the second coil assembly 132b can be controlled by another particular one of the multiple control devices, where the control channels can be configured to operate at least one respective coil of the coil(s). A sensor device disposed approximately roughly at three quarter way of the span of the first coil assembly 132a can dictate the deployment of n+1 deactivation pulses. The “n+1 pulse” deactivation scheme energizes the coil(s) (e.g., two nested coils) alternately to ensure deactivation field diversity to the AM tag / label devices within the receptacle 110, and split the thermal load between the first and second coil assemblies 132a and 132b. The second coil assembly 132b can function independently in the same fashion with a second properly placed sensor device and the other particular one of the multiple controller devices.

[0064] It is noted that the disclosure is not limited to configurations having the first and second coil assemblies 132a and 132b. Further, the disclosure is also not limited to a coil assembly having multiple coils. Indeed, in some cases an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus in accordance with this disclosure includes a series of two or more coil assemblies, with each of coil assemblies including one or more coils. Regardless theDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) number of coil assemblies in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, deactivation of AM tag / labels is implemented in accordance with deactivation aspects described herein.

[0065] To address range issues in commonplace approaches involving y and z coils generating magnetic fields orthogonal to the direction of movement in a conveyance system, in aspects of this disclosure, the x coil is tilted or rotated to provide y and z field components to cover the deactivation of labels in they and z orientation. FIG. 2 illustrates such a configuration. In one configuration, four coils can be used instead of the six used in the commonplace approach. As the coil tilted and rotated away from the direction of travel, they gain more and more y and z field component. However, the tradeoff is that the coils have to be bigger with increasing angle to maintain the same opening for the passage of the receptacle. As the coils increase in size, for a constant power supply, the current going through the coils is reduced because of the increase in inductance and resistance. Eventually, the x field would also diminish to the extent that it may adversely impact the x orientation deactivation performance.

[0066] For a label with a particular orientation, traveling along the tunnel formed by the tilted and rotated coils as shown in FIG. 2 it can be calculated if the label could be deactivated by the field generated by the field coils. In some cases, the field calculation may be performed with various commercially available electro-magnetic simulation software. For the coil geometries illustrated in FIG. 2, the magnetic field also can be accurately approximated using equations of rectangular current loop. Without intending to be bound by theory and / or modeling, the formalism described in Sec. 2 of J. Res. Natl. Stand. Technol. 105, 557 (2000) may be used. The calculation can provide field vector in a volume of interest, where the receptacle 110 passes through. The trajectory of a label in the receptable 110 along the conveyance equipment 120 before entering and completely exiting the deactivator 130 is used to calculate if the label, having a particular orientation, is subjected to a sufficient field to effect a deactivation along such a trajectory. In case the label is indeed subjected to such a sufficient field, a successful deactivation occurs. In case the label is not subjected to such a sufficient field, a failed deactivation occurs. The calculation is repeated for all possible trajectories with all label orientations, with a reasonable spatial resolution and a reasonable angular resolution to provide satisfactory results (e.g., results that are accurate within a desired, configurable accuracy) and avoid rendering the computation impractical or otherwise unfeasible, to obtain a percentage successful deactivation rate. The deactivation rate out of all possible label orientations and label positions can thus be calculated. FIG. 3 is two-dimensional line plot ofDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) percentage AM label orientation successfully deactivated out of all orientations for various arrangements of coils with coils assemblies present in a tag / label deactivation apparatus. The angle for the tilted coil and rotated coil can be kept the same for the sake of simplicity of illustration. This disclosure is, of course, not limited in that respect and thus there is no restriction that the angle between tilted coils and the angle between rotated coils be the same. At lower angle, the coverage is low due to the miss deactivation for labels in y orientation and z orientation. It improves with increasing tilted and rotated angle and drops back down with the diminishing current with the increase in coil size as discussed above. The coverage reaches a plateau at about 30-degree angle and max out at about 38-degree angle and trail back down at about 45-degree angle or greater.

[0067] In sharp contrast to a commonplace approach where the box is moved into place before the box is exposed to three orthogonal field pulses for the deactivation of the whole box, each of the coils included in the coil assemblies of this disclosure generate a more uniform magnetic field of sufficient magnitude (e.g., 25 Gauss) to demagnetize a bias strip present in an AM tag device. For a particular coil, the generated magnetic field covers part of the entire volume of the receptacle that contain the AM tag devices. As an illustration, FIG. 4 is a side view of an example AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 200 including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of tilted coils, where one of the tilted coils can provide a region 410 having magnetic fields that are sufficient to deactivate AM tag / label devices present in the box 210 traversing the deactivation apparatus 200. The region 410 can be referred to as “hot zone,” simply for the sake of nomenclature. Such a tilted coil provides the region 410 in response to being energized by an energy storage device (not shown in FIG. 4) that is coupled with the coil. As mentioned, the dimensions of the box 210 can be 80 cm x 60 cm x 40 cm box. More specifically, in FIG. 4, the region 410 is projected onto a plane. The region 410 has a bounding surface that contains a volume where magnetic fields have respective magnitudes that are equal to or greater than a threshold magnitude Bd (e.g., 25 Gauss) sufficient to deactivate an AM tag / label device. Magnetic fields outside the region 410 have respective magnitudes that are less than the threshold magnitude Bd. An example of Bd is 25 Gauss. The region 410 has elongated shape, and, thus, has a major axis and a minor axis. The minor axis is perpendicular to a plane containing an opening of the tilted coil that generates the magnetic fields. A maximum length of the minor axis (referred to as the width of the region 410) is about 31 cm. The span of the region 410 is not large enough to cover the length of the entire box 210.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0068] FIG. 5 is a top view of the example AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 200 show in FIG. 4, including a second coil assembly having a nested pair of rotated coils, in accordance with aspects described herein. One of the rotated coils can provide a region 510 having magnetic fields that are sufficient to deactivate AM tag / label devices present in the box 210 traversing the deactivation apparatus 200. The region 510 can be referred to as “hot zone,” simply for the sake of nomenclature. Such a rotated coil provides the region 510 in response to being energized by an energy storage device (not shown in FIG. 5) that is coupled with the coil. More specifically, in FIG. 5, the region 510 is projected onto a plane. The region 510 has a bounding surface that contains a volume where magnetic fields have respective magnitudes that are equal to or greater than the threshold magnitude Bd (e.g., 25 Gauss) sufficient to deactivate an AM tag / label device. Magnetic fields outside the region 510 have respective magnitudes that are less than the threshold magnitude Bd. An example of Bd is 25 Gauss. The region 510 has elongated shape, and, thus, has a major axis and a minor axis. The minor axis is perpendicular to a plane containing an opening of the rotated coil that generates the magnetic fields. The width of the bubble is about 31 cm. The span of the region 510 is not large enough to cover the length of the entire box 210.

[0069] To achieve deactivation of the entire box 210, the leading end of the box 210 is moved to the “hot zone” 410 or 510 for first deactivation pulse activated by a sensor device (e.g., a beambreak sensor device). The box 210 can then be advanced for deactivation of a next volume segment / portion of the box 210. The sequence can be repeated until the entire box 210 has been exposed to deactivation magnetic field.

[0070] In the example AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 200 illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the tilted coils set are at +0o and -0o from a direction perpendicular to a planar transportation surface of the conveyance system. The value of 0o is 30 degrees in order to achieve a high rate of deactivation (see FIG. 3). The disclosure is not limited in that respect, and in some cases, 00 can have another value is the range from about 30 degrees to 40 degrees. The two tilted coils are nested one within another. It is noted that this disclosure is not limited in that respect, and in some implementations, the tilted coils are not nested with one another. As mentioned, those coils are connected to one controller device with two or more output channels. The tilted coils, referred to as “+” andcoils, can be energized alternately to ensure AM tags / labels oriented parallel to the plane of one of the coils (which is a field null) would get deactivated by the other tilted coil. The exit of the box 210 may be detected by the same sensor device or a different sensor deviceDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)(e.g., a beam-break sensor device) to terminate further deactivation pulses. As is described herein, the entry, presence, and exit of the box can be determined by one or a combination of sensor devices, such as a beam-break sensor device, a photo eye, an imager (e.g., a camera device), and / or a distance measuring sensor device.

[0071] The nested rotated coils (which in some cases can be assembled in the aft of the tunnel) are connected to a second controller device and are operated the same way as the tilted coils and independently driven by another sensor device (e.g., a beam-break sensor device) located at the hot zone of the rotated coils.

[0072] A finer step between pulses can provide greater exposure of the AM tag / label devices to magnetic field and, as a result, deactivation performance can improve. However, more energy is expensed for each box that traverses the deactivation apparatus of this disclosure; deactivation throughput is reduced; and it can cause several thermal issues.

[0073] The box can be advanced and stopped for the deactivation pulse. However, the deactivation pulse lasts for about 10 ms to 20 ms. Therefore, the deactivation can be performed while the box is in motion moving through the conveyor. The whole process can be continuous with the proper setting of the conveyor speed as a function of the repetition rate of the deactivation burst, so that the box is positioned at the location where the deactivation burst should be activated. The repetition rate of the deactivation burst is determined by the charging time of the storage capacitor and the thermal limit of the electronics and the coils. In some cases, as is described herein, a transportation speed of about 30 cm / s is optimal. Transportation speed should not exceed 35 cm / s.

[0074] An alternative scheme to trigger deactivation pulses includes label detection. The deactivator controller has the capability to detect an AM tag / label devices using the same deactivation coils present in a coil assembly as antenna and receiver of AM tag / label device signal. A box of merchandise with AM tag / label devices is moved through a deactivation apparatus via conveyance equipment and active AM tag / label devices are detected by AM tag / label detection processes of a control unit (e.g., control unit 140 (FIG. 1). Deactivation pulses are triggered in response to detecting an active AM tag / label device. As the box is moved through the detection apparatus, the deactivation coils are energized in response to the detection of active AM tag / label devices. Deactivation of the whole box can thus be achieved as the box moves through the deactivation apparatus.

[0075] As is described herein, example coil geometry and a rectangular prism object illustrating an 80 cm x 60cm x 40 cm box are shown in FIG. 2. When mounting coilDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) assemblies of a deactivation apparatus in accordance with this disclosure, it may be desired to minimize or otherwise mitigate amount of surrounding metal and permeable magnetic material which can distort and reduce a magnetic field that is applied to AM tag / label devices within a receptacle traversing the deactivation apparatus. Even when using plastic and / or fiber glass to provide a support structure and protection members for the coil assemblies, metal components in the conveyance equipment that moves the receptacle are unavoidable. For example, it is difficult to deploy a satisfactory alternative to steel railing in the conveyance equipment. Notwithstanding, the steel railing is located relatively distally from a coil assembly. Accordingly, in some configurations, magnetic field distortion due to the steel railing can be minimized or otherwise mitigated.

[0076] For a receptable to clear and pass through the openings defined by coils within the deactivation apparatus, a conveyor bed of the conveyance equipment can be configured to provide clearance for the coil(s) present in a coil assembly. As an illustration, in the example coil arrangement shown in FIG. 2, a roller or belt of the conveyance equipment is placed overlaying bottom members of respective tilted coil(s). Therefore, to avoid interfering with movement of the receptacle, each one of the tilted coils antennas is arranged such that the coil passes through a gap between rollers, and each rotated coil present in a coil assembly is threaded underneath multiple rollers. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an example arrangement of tilted coils, rotated coils, support structure, and a section of conveyance equipment.

[0077] The material for shell and shaft of rollers in a section of the conveyor bed that is proximate to the deactivation apparatus has therefore an impact on the magnetic field generated by the coils in the deactivation apparatus. Although the rollers in the conveyor could be plastic, the shafts of the rollers are formed by metal (such as steel) in order to provide mechanical rigidity / integrity. Further, due to mechanical factors, some of the longer rollers present in the conveyor bed are not available with a plastic shell. Accordingly, in some configurations, 300 series nonmagnetic stainless steel is used for the roller shell and shaft to minimize magnetic distortion.

[0078] Although 300 series stainless steel has relatively low conductivity compared to aluminum or copper, local eddy current effect on a deactivation magnetic field burst cannot be avoided and can cause a reduction of magnetic field. An induced eddy current becomes detrimental in situations where a conduction path formed between a roller shell, roller shaft, and conveyor rail. The eddy current that is induced can be substantial and opposes to the magnetic field generated by the coils in the coil assemblies present in aDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) tag / label deactivation apparatus in accordance with this disclosure. Thus, an induced eddy current can reduce deactivation performance. To avoid the formation of such a conduction loop, the shaft and roller can be electrically isolated from the conveyor rail by using a plastic washer and a plastic bushing.

[0079] FIG. 7A is a view of a customized conveyor bed with (i) an example interface of idler roller to conveyor rail with plastic bushing for electrical isolation and (ii) brackets and short idler rollers to provide clearance for coil assemblies, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. FIG. 7B is an exploded view of the example interface of idler roller to conveyor rail with plastic bushing for electrical isolation.

[0080] In some configurations of the conveyance equipment that moves a receptable through a deactivation apparatus, a gap between rollers may not be wide enough to fit a coil (a tilted coil or a rotated coil, or both). The distance between the coil legs is dictated by the coil size and their tilted angle and rotated angle and may not be aligned with the position of the gaps between roller to fit the coil in. One option is to leave out some of the rollers which may provide ample room to fit a coil. In such a scenario, removal of a roller from the conveyor bed may permit fitting the coil, but smaller items may fall through the gap and / or may cause jamming of the conveyance line if an item is stuck in the gap where the roller was removed. Thus, removal of roller may be undesirable.

[0081] In this disclosure, shorter rollers that are longer than the width of the box but shorter than the width of the antennas are used in place of removed long rollers in order to fit a coil that is part of a coil assembly. To support a short roller, a stainless steel bracket is used to support the short roller and bridge the gap between the conveyor rail and the shorter roller. In one example, the stainless steel bracket has a thickness of about 3 mm. The disclosure is, of course, not limited, in that respect. The disclosure is also not limited to steel brackets and, in some cases, other materials (metals or non-metals) can be used.

[0082] FIG. 8A illustrates example brackets and short idler rollers to provide clearance for coil assemblies present in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. In some cases, the example brackets are 3 mm thick stainless-steel brackets, which brackets yield a 70 mm gap to accommodate a tilted coil and a rotated coil. The disclosure is not limited in that respect and brackets of other materials and geometries can be contemplated. Indeed, the brackets can be manufactured of any non-magnetic material not having high conductivity and that provides appropriate structural stability and with any appropriate geometry to provide adequate clearance for a tilted coil or a rotated coil. For purposes of illustration, a non-magnetic material notDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) having high conductive includes low / moderate conductivity metals, such as stainless steel which has a conductive of 1.5* 106S / m. That is, a suitable non-magnetic material not having high conductive may be a material that has a conductivity that is about an order of magnitude less than the conductivity of material such as copper (which has a conductivity of about 59.6* 106S / m at room temperature) or aluminum (which has a conductivity of about 35* 106S / m at room temperature). Examples of materials that can be used for brackets in accordance with this disclosure include metals, metal alloys, and plastics. Further, a short idler roller in FIG. 8A has a 50 mm diameter, and the gap between rollers (short and long) is about 25 mm. Accordingly, with the use of 3 mm thick steel bracket, a gap of 70 mm is available to fit the antennas.

[0083] FIG. 8B also illustrates example brackets and short idler rollers to provide clearance for coil assemblies present in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. In some cases, the example brackets are 3 mm thick stainless-steel brackets, which brackets yield a 70 mm gap to accommodate a tilted coil and a rotated coil. The disclosure is not limited in that respect and brackets of other materials and geometries can be contemplated. Indeed, the brackets can be manufactured of any material providing appropriate structural stability and with any appropriate geometry to provide adequate clearance for a tilted coil or a rotated coil. Examples of materials that can be used for brackets in accordance with this disclosure include metals, metal alloys, and plastics.

[0084] FIG. 9 is a top view of the conveyor bed shown in FIG. 8A. It is clear in this view that the short roller and bracket make this arrangement of the coil assembly possible without interfering with an underlying conveyance equipment and allow for physical tolerance of the conveyance equipment and the coils.

[0085] In some cases, a bent tilted coil can be assembled instead of introducing brackets. A portion of tilted coil at the bottom fitting into a gap between rollers is bent vertically minimizing the space needed due to the tilt angle of the coil.

[0086] FIG. 10 is a view of an example arrangement of coil assemblies, an example support structure 1010, and a section of conveyance equipment, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The section of conveyance equipment extends from a first roller 1020a to a second roller 1020b, and includes a customized conveyor bed as is described herein. The first roller 1020a and / or the second roller 1020b can be an idler roller, a drive roller, or a combination of both. A first sensor device 1030a and a secondDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) sensor device 1030b also are illustrated. The disclosure is not limited in that respect, and, in some cases, more than two sensor devices can be contemplated.

[0087] FIG. 11 is a view of a housing 1110 defining a passage for transportation of receptables through an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus including coil assemblies, support structure, and a section of conveyance equipment, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The housing 1110 covers the coil assemblies, support structure, and section of conveyance equipment, and other elements of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus shown in FIG. 10. Regardless of architecture of an AM / label deactivation apparatus of this disclosure, a housing can be assembled to cover coil assemblies, support structure(s), section of conveyance equipment, and other elements of the AM / label deactivation apparatus.

[0088] Various additional or alternative aspects can be implemented in the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 (FIG. 1) and other deactivation apparatuses described herein. In some aspects, several coils can be used and several controller devices can be used to achieve omnidirectional coverage. In addition, or in other aspects, core coils instead of air coils can be used to generate magnetic field. Core coil with high permeability magnetic core can have a field orientation parallel to a planar section defined by the coil construction instead of a normal field orientation as it is the case for an air coil. It is noted that most deactivator apparatuses in accordance with this disclosure may have an air coil. That air coil may be wound flat and may create a magnetic field that is normal to the flat coil. In contrast, some deactivator apparatuses in accordance with this disclosure may have a flat core, and a coil is wound in different orientation than in an air coil creating a field that is parallel to the planar core of the flat core. Further, or in yet other aspects, phasing of multiple coils can be used to achieve omnidirectional coverage.

[0089] In scenarios where a very high deactivation rate or a very low degree of failure to deactivate is desired, two or more AM / label deactivation apparatuses in accordance with this disclosure can be assembled in a cascading configuration, thus providing a cascading deactivation system. A cascading deactivation system may be assembled in scenarios where a success rate of 99 % is desired, for example. FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a cascading deactivation system in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. The exemplified cascading deactivation system 1200 includes two AM / label deactivation apparatuses: a first AM / label deactivation apparatus 130(1) and each AM / label deactivation apparatus 130(2), each of which apparatuses having a same structure as the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus 130 shown in FIG. 1 and described herein. TheDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) disclosure is, of course, not limited in that respect and, in some cases, the cascading deactivation system 1200 may include two AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses that are different from one another.

[0090] A cascading deactivation system can be based on the fact that a process which has a 98% success rate (i.e., 2% failure rate), for example, has 99.96% success rate repeating the process again, if it is allowed to be randomized before repeating. Thus, for example, receptacle of labels was deactivated by deactivation apparatus 130 (FIG. 1) with a failure rate of 2% (or 0.02). If the labels are randomized in position and orientation and pass through the deactivation apparatus 130 again, the resulting failure rate would be 0.02 x 0.02 = 0.0004 (0.04 %) or a success rate of 99.96 %. If strictly the same exposure to the receptable is repeated (same label location and same deactivation trigger point, for example), the same failure rate of 0.02 results regardless how many cascading deactivation systems the receptacle passes through. Therefore, the key is to introduce diversity of deactivation method and / or field exposure between the two cascading systems.

[0091] A cascading deactivation system can afford various forms of deactivation diversity — that is, implementation of different deactivation techniques across the AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses that form the cascading deactivation system. Deactivation diversity may provide at least some degree of randomization. Some examples of deactivation diversity between a first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (e.g., an upstream apparatus) and a second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (e.g., a downstream apparatus) the cascading deactivation system include: forced deactivation / detection-and-deactivation combination; forced deactivation / forced deactivation with a At time delay trigger or Ax displaced trigger; forced deactivation / forced deactivation with box rotated and / or flipped; coil / antenna configuration variance, such as different coil / antenna tilted and rotated angle between the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus and the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus.

[0092] FIG. 13 illustrates examples of coil assemblies that are part of AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses included in a cascading deactivation system, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The exemplified coil assemblies include a first coil assembly 1310a and a second coil assembly 1310b that can be part of a first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus forming the cascading deactivation system. Each one of the first coil assembly 1310a and the second coil assembly 1310b is affixed to a first section of aDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) conveyor bed of a conveyance system. Further, the exemplified coil assemblies also include a first coil assembly 1320a and a second coil assembly 1320b that can be part of a second AMtag / label deactivation apparatus forming the cascading deactivation system. Each one of the first coil assembly 1320a and the second coil assembly 1320b is affixed to a second section of the conveyor bed. The first section and the second section are demarcated with shaded conveyor rollers.

[0093] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of control elements of a cascading deactivation apparatus, in accordance with one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0094] Various other aspects of the operation of an AM tag / label eactivation apparatus of this disclosure also are considered. For example, various aspects of thermal management are involved in the implementation of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. As such, the following approaches / configurations can be implemented / deployed to mitigate thermal issues, such as excessive heat production / dissipation: (1) Limiting the number of consecutive pulses; (2) implementation of “thermal counter” to track (a) energy pumped into the electronics and coil and (b) the energy dissipation with time characterized by thermal time constant to ensure electronics and coils are not overheated; (3) use of cascading deactivation system and swap systems between high-load and low-load mode of operation to even out heat load for two AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses present in the cascading deactivation system; (4) stop deactivation when the conveyance system associated with the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus is stopped; (5) keep track of last coil energized and ensure an alternative coil is used in order to even load on the two coils controlled by a controller device. Aspects of these approaches are described in greater detail hereinafter.

[0095] An approach to thermal management may include limiting a number of consecutive pulses that can be applied to coil assemblies included in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, and stopping deactivation for a defined time interval after applying a threshold number of consecutive pulses. Examples of the defined time interval include 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes. A control unit included in the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can count the number of deactivation pulses that have been applied with a defined rolling time window. An example of the control unit is the control unit 140 (FIG. 1). Examples of the rolling time window include 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes. Counting the number of deactivation pulses includes updating a deactivation counter. In response to the deactivation counter being equal to the threshold number, the control unit can stop deactivation at the AM tag / label deactivation apparatusDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) and movement of the conveyance system associated with the apparatus. The control unit can stop deactivation and movement concurrently or essentially concurrent (e.g., in rapid sequence). The control unit can resume the operation of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus and the conveyance system in response to the defined time interval elapsing.

[0096] Another approach to thermal management includes a technique where a thermal response of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus may be more accurately captured by a “thermal counter” (or “thermal count”) that is incremented and decremented as a function of count / number of deactivation pulses or time, or both count / number of deactivation pulses and time. Simply for purposes of illustration, the thermal counter is a metric indicative or otherwise representative of temperature of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of the AM tag / label devices or during cooling off. That is, the thermal counter represents temperature of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. Such a technique may be more precise and efficient than the limit- and-stop approach described hereinbefore.

[0097] The heating and cooling of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus follow Newton’s law of cooling, but the characteristic thermal time constant depends at least on the thermal makeup / character of the electronic systems, coils, physical insulation, cooling method, environmental factors (such as ambient temperature), a combination of the foregoing, and / or similar factors. Therefore, a formal expression that defines the metric indicative or otherwise representative of temperature of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus as a function of count / number of deactivation pulses and / or time may be determined for the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. The formal expression may be specific to the type and / or number of electronic components, electromechanical components, mechanical components, or a combination thereof, that are included in the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. Such a metric defines a temperature profile of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. Without intending to be bound by modeling or theory, the thermal profile can be defined by a monotonically increasing function of time during deactivation and by a monotonically decreasing function of time during cooling. During deactivation, time can be represented by a current total number of pulses.

[0098] FIG. 15 illustrates an example thermal profile 1510 of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus during deactivation, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The example thermal profile 1510 is a natural logarithm function of time (which can be represented by total number of deactivation pulses). Temperature is shownDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) in units of degree Celsius. A dotted line shows a polynomial approximation to the example thermal profile 1510.

[0099] FIG. 16 illustrates an example thermal profile 1610 of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus during cooling, after deactivation has ceased, in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The example thermal profile 1610 is a natural logarithm function of time. Temperature is shown in units of degree Celsius.

[0100] As is described herein, the thermal count (denoted by Tcmmt) can be determined by a control unit (e.g., by firmware within the control unit). More specifically, a timer with a timer period At (e.g., 10 seconds) may be used as the time reference for the thermal counts. After a time period elapses, the control unit adds the total number of deactivation pulses in the timer period. Simply for the sake of notation, the total number of pulses in the timer period can be denoted by Count. In one implementation, the maximum number of deactivation pulses per timer period is 25 (at a maximum deactivation rate of 2.5 Hz, for example). The control unit can determine a current thermal count after a timer period elapses.

[0101] To simplify the calculations and computing resources (e.g., processing cycles and / or memory allocation), a thermal profile of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can be approximated by a linear model. In an example of the linear model, the thermal profile is divided into multiple thermal count zones, with each thermal count zone having a unique slope (see FIG. 15 and FIG. 16). Thermal count zones for heating and cooling are independent. A multiplier a is then used to represent the slope of each thermal count zone. As such, after an z-th timer period elapses, the control unit can determine the current thermal count T^untusing the following linearized expression:Here, the current thermal count T^untis based on the previous thermal count T^olu^tat the immediately previous timer period; the number of deactivation pulses in the z-th timer period (Mount),- a rise multiplier aRise, and a cooling multiplier acooi. Respective values of the rise multiplier a.RiSeand the cooling multiplier acooi are defined piecewise over thermal count zones. The parameter M represents the maximum number of deactivation pulses per timer period (e.g., M = 25).Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0102] Without intending to be bound by modeling and / or theory, according to Eq. (1), the effect of each deactivation pulse has a contribution to temperature rise, and time without deactivations in the same time period contributes to cooling and associated decrease in temperature. More specifically, the term Count x aRiseincreases T^untbased on deactivations during the z-th timer period, and the term -(M — Count) x aCooidecreases T^untbased on time without deactivation and cooling multiplier. In this way, when deactivating at full rate over a timer period, Count = M and the thermal count rises without contribution from cooling. Conversely, when there are no deactivations, Count = 0 and Tc^untdecreases due to contribution from cooling.

[0103] Table 1 presents rise multipliers for a linear model that approximates the example thermal profile 1510 (FIG. 15) that may be applicable during deactivation in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. The disclosure is not limited to the example cooling multiplier shown in Table 2, nor is the disclosure limited to the number of zones shown in Table 2. In some cases, for some thermal profiles more or fewer than four zone can be contemplated.Table 1

[0104] Table 2 presents example cooling multipliers for a linear model that approximates the example thermal profile 1610 (FIG. 16) that may be applicable during cooling of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. The disclosure is not limited to the example cooling multiplier shown in Table 2, nor is the disclosure limited to the number of zones shown in Table 2. In some cases, for some thermal profiles more or fewer than four zone can be contemplated.Table 2Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0105] For purposes of illustration, a thermal cutoff level is a threshold that indicates when an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus should be shut down, and thermal cooldown initiated, in response to a corresponding temperature of one or more components reaching or nearly reaching a rated temperature of the component(s).

[0106] Upon or after initiating thermal cooldown of a first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (e.g., apparatus 130(1), FIG. 12), a second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (e.g., apparatus 130(2), FIG. 12) may begin to deactivate AM tags / labels. As a result, the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus may progressively increment a second thermal counter of that apparatus as the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus continues to deactivate AM tags / labels and the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus continues to cool down. Simply for purposes of illustration, similar to other thermal counters described herein, the second thermal counter is a metric indicative or otherwise representative of heat dissipated by the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of the AM tag / label devices.

[0107] In response to the second thermal counter reaching a second thermal cutoff level — e.g., upon reaching the second thermal cutoff level or after the thermal cutoff level has been reached — the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can signal to the first AM tag / label apparatus that the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus has reached the second thermal cutoff level. In some cases, the second thermal cutoff level may be equal to the thermal cutoff level of the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. In other cases, the second thermal cutoff level may greater than or less than the thermal cutoff level of the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus. The first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can receive the signal and, in response, can resume deactivating again at this point while the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus transitions to a “cooldown” state and decrements the second thermal counter. The second thermal counter can be decremented according to the linearized thermal counter model defined by Eq. (1) hereinbefore.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0108] The cycle described above may be repeated until articles having respective AM tag / label devices attached thereon cease to enter an upstream AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (e.g., the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus) and thermal counters return to a defined thermal recovery level. In one example, the thermal recovery level is equivalent to ambient temperature.

[0109] Depending on the intended throughput requirement of the application of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus, it may not be acceptable to shut down the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus in response to achieving a thermal cutoff level. In such scenarios, a cascading deactivation system in accordance with this disclosure may be deployed and used, but instead of using the cascading deactivation system to achieve an ultra-high deactivation rate, the cascading deactivation system may be used as a redundancy. To that end, the cascading deactivation system can operate one of two AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses at a time, where operation is switched between a first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus and a second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus based on thermal state of one of those apparatuses. Specifically, operation may be switched from the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus to the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus in response to the first AM tag / label apparatus transitioning to a defined thermal state indicative of excessive temperature, and, thus, being shut off. Such a defined thermal state may be referred to as “overheated state.” Further, operation also may be switched back from the second AM tag / label deactivation apparatus to the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus in response to the first AM tag / label deactivation apparatus transitioning to another defined thermal state indicative of satisfactory temperature and, thus, recovering. Such other defined thermal state may be referred to as “recovered state.” In other words, the cascading deactivation system can be operated at a reduced duty cycle as operation is switched between the two AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses that form the cascading deactivation system in response to one of the AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses transitioning from an overheated stated to a recovered state. A control unit that is part of the cascading deactivation apparatus can switch operation as is described herein.

[0110] In some cases, the cascading deactivation system can be operated at a reduced duty cycle where detection operation switches periodically between the two AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses in order to even out thermal load. A control unit that is part of the cascading deactivation apparatus can switch operation in such a fashion.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)Reducing duty cycle by periodically switching between AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses can be advantageous for the longevity of the equipment.

[0111] In other cases, the cascading deactivation system also can serve the dual purpose of providing ultra-high deactivation performance (e.g., greater than 99 % deactivation rate) and being a redundancy for thermal shut off.

[0112] Other thermal management approaches include implementing a signal handshake between an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus and the conveyance system associated therewith. For example, in a situation where the conveyance system stops, there is no need to deactivate any AM tags / labels. As part of the signal handshake, the conveyance system can send a first signal to the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus in response to the conveyance system stopping. The first signal can direct the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (via a control unit thereof, for example) to halt deactivation. The AM tag / label deactivation apparatus (via the control unit) can send a second signal to the conveyance system, where the second signal is an ACK signal indicating the AM tag / label deactivation apparatus has halted deactivation.

[0113] The “n+1 pulse” forced deactivation scheme described above may favor the use of a first channel in a two-channel control unit / device, if it always starts the sequence with one specific channel, and if “n+1” is an odd number. Over time, the difference in usage of a particular channel relative to other channel(s) may be significant and may result in that particular channel being more prone to breaking down. Because the channel that is used to start the “n+1 pulse” deactivation sequence is immaterial to deactivation performance, the next sequence start can be programmed to start with the next channel from the last channel of a previous “n+1 pulse” deactivation sequence. In that way, usage of the multiple channels of a control unit may be even out.

[0114] FIGs. 17A-21 show various additional aspects in accordance with this disclosure. In these additional aspects coil assemblies can be arranged and oriented in different manners for AM tag / label deactivation and can have overlapping and / or complementary magnetic fields that account for different orientations of AM tags / labels that may pass through or otherwise traverse a deactivation apparatus. Such overlapping and / or complementary magnetic fields generally cover three orthogonal directions, such as the x-, y-, and z-directions indicated in the figures. In some aspects, a nested coil assembly can primarily cover two directions, while a parallel coil assembly can primarily cover at least the third direction relative to an axis that AM tags / labels traverse. In some aspects, a nested coil can be adjacent to a parallel coil. In some aspects, a nested coil canDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) be spaced apart from a parallel coil along an axis and / or a direction that AM tags / labels traverse. In some aspects, a nested coil and parallel coil can overlap along an axis and / or a direction that AM tags / labels traverse. In some aspects, two nested coils can overlap along an axis and / or a direction that AM tags / labels traverse. In some aspects, two nested coils can be adjacent along an axis and / or a direction that AM tags / labels traverse. In some aspects, two nested coils can be spaced apart along an axis and / or a direction that AM tags / labels traverse.

[0115] In some aspects a first coil assembly and a second coil assembly of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can be spaced apart from each other along an axis and / or a direction in which AM tags / labels traverse the deactivation apparatus. In such aspects, a controller can be configured to power the first coil assembly and second coil assembly independent of each other, such that the first coil assembly can be powered and generate a magnetic field and the second coil assembly can then be powered and generate a magnetic field. This configuration enables separate or consecutive powering of the first coil assembly and second coil assembly, which may eliminate the need for or otherwise does not require a more complicated hand shake of the timing of the powering of the first and second coil assembly.

[0116] FIG. 17A is a view of examples of coil assemblies 1700 including a first coil assembly having parallel set of coils (fore when viewed in the x-direction, and / or a direction of travel of tags to be deactivated) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested rotated coils (aft when viewed in the x-direction, and / or a direction of travel of tags to be deactivated), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. In the aspect shown parallel coils (fore) of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can provide a region having magnetic fields that are sufficient to deactivate AM tag / label devices present in the box 210 traversing the deactivation apparatus. The region can be referred to as “hot zone,” simply for the sake of nomenclature. Such a parallel coil assembly provides the region in response to being energized by an energy storage device (not shown in FIG. 17A) that is coupled with the coil. In this case, the parallel coils (fore) extend in respective, spaced apart planes that intersect with, and in some cases are perpendicular to, the Z-direction. The majority of the magnetic field generated by the parallel coil assembly is in the Z-direction. The nested rotated coils can generate fields as described elsewhere in this disclosure, e.g., primarily in the X- and Y-directions. For example, in this case, the nested rotated coils (aft) extend in respective, intersecting planes that are parallel to the Z-direction and that intersect with the X- and Y-directions.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0117] In some aspects, nested rotated coils and parallel coils can be spaced apart from each other along an x-axis.

[0118] FIG. 17B is a view of examples of coil assemblies 1701 including a first coil assembly having a pair of nested rotated coils (fore when viewed in the x-direction, and / or a direction of travel of tags to be deactivated) and another coil assembly having parallel set of coils (aft when viewed in the x-direction, and / or a direction of travel of tags to be deactivated), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. Coil assemblies 1701 in FIG. 17B can generate magnetic fields similar to those describe with respect to FIG. 17A, but with the order of coils switched from that shown in FIG. 17A.

[0119] FIG. 18A is a view of examples of coil assemblies 1800 including a first coil assembly having a pair of nested tilted coils (fore when viewed in the x-direction, and / or a direction of travel of tags to be deactivated) and another coil assembly having parallel set of coils (aft when viewed in the x-direction, and / or a direction of travel of tags to be deactivated), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. In the aspect shown parallel coils (aft) of an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus can provide a region having magnetic fields that are sufficient to deactivate AM tag / label devices present in the box 210 traversing the deactivation apparatus. The region can be referred to as “hot zone,” simply for the sake of nomenclature. Such a parallel coil assembly provides the region in response to being energized by an energy storage device (not shown in FIG. 18A) that is coupled with the coil. In this case, the parallel coils (aft) extend in respective, spaced apart planes that are parallel to the Z- and / or X-directions and that intersect with, and in some cases are perpendicular to, the Y-direction. The majority of the magnetic field (e.g., primary component) generated by the parallel coil assembly can be in the Y- direction (as shown). Also, the nested tilted coils (fore) extend in respective planes that are parallel to the Y-direction, that intersect with one another, and the respective planes also intersect with the X- and Z-directions. The nested tilted coils (fore) can generate fields as described elsewhere in this disclosure, e.g., each having a magnetic field with a primary component normal to a plane of the respective coil, which in the case of these coils that are tilted about the Y-axis means the primary magnetic field has a primary component in the X- and Z-directions.

[0120] FIG. 18B is a view of examples of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having parallel set of coils (fore) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested tilted coils (aft), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. Coil assemblies 1801 in FIG. 18B can generate magnetic fields including field componentsDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) similar to those describe with respect to FIG. 18A, but with the order of coils switched from that shown in FIG. 18A.

[0121] FIG. 19 is a view of examples of coil assemblies 1900 including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of rotated coils (interior) and another coil assembly having a pair of nested tilted coils (exterior), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The nested pair of rotated coils (interior) and nested tilted coils (exterior) generate magnetic fields with field components as described herein, including with respect to FIG. 2. For example, in this case, the nested pair of rotated coils (interior) extend in respective, intersecting planes that are parallel to the Z-direction, such that a vector normal to a surface of each of the planes corresponds to a direction of a primary magnetic field that has a primary component in the X- and Y-directions. Correspondingly, the pair of nested tilted coils (exterior) extend in respective, intersecting planes that are parallel to the Y-direction, such that a vector normal to a surface of each of the planes corresponds to a direction of a primary magnetic field that has a primary component in the X- and Z-directions.

[0122] FIG. 20 is a view of examples of coil assemblies 2000 including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of rotated coils (interior) and another coil assembly having a pair of parallel coils (exterior), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure . The nested pair of rotated coils (interior) and parallel coils (exterior) generate magnetic fields including field components as described herein, including with respect to FIGs. 2 and 17A. For example, in this case, the parallel coils (exterior) extend in respective, spaced apart planes that are parallel to the X- and / or Y-directions such that a vector normal to a surface of each of the planes corresponds to a direction of a primary magnetic field that has a primary component in the Z-direction. Further, in this case, the nested pair of rotated coils (interior) extend in respective, intersecting planes that are parallel to the Z-direction such that a vector normal to a surface of each of the planes corresponds to a direction of a primary magnetic field that has a primary component in the X- and Y - directions.

[0123] FIG. 21 is a view of examples of coil assemblies including a first coil assembly having a nested pair of tilted coils (exterior) and another coil assembly having a pair of parallel coils (interior), in accordance with one or more aspects of this disclosure. The nested pair of tilted coils (exterior) and parallel coils (interior) generate magnetic fields including field components as described herein, including with respect to FIGs. 2 and 17A. For example, in this case, the parallel coils (interior) extend in respective,DocketNo.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) spaced apart planes parallel to the X- and / or Z-directions, such that a vector normal to a surface of each of the planes corresponds to a direction of a primary magnetic field that has a primary component in the Y -direction. Further, in this case, the nested pair of tilted coils (exterior) extend in respective, intersecting planes that are parallel to the Y-direction such that a vector normal to a surface of each of the planes corresponds to a direction of a primary magnetic field that has a primary component in the X- and Z-directions. It should be understood that the size of each pair of coils and the relative position of and / or spacing between such coils is configurable depending on the particular implementation.

[0124] The thermal approaches described herein can be implemented individually or in combination. Thus, one or more techniques to mitigate excess temperature can be implemented in an AM tag / label deactivation apparatus.

[0125] Various functionalities of AM tag / label deactivation apparatuses in accordance with this disclosure have been described in connection with operation of one or more control units. A control unit in accordance with disclosure has computing resources including, for example, one or more processors, one or more memory devices, disk space, incoming bandwidth, and / or outgoing bandwidth, interface(s) (such as I / O interfaces or APIs, or both), a power supply, a combination of the foregoing, and / or similar resources. Thus, the control unit may be referred to as a computing device. To provide the functionality described herein, a control unit can execute processor-accessible instructions retained in one or more memory devices (or, in some cases, other non- transitory processor-readable media). The one or more processors, individually or in combination, can execute the processor-accessible instructions.

[0126] Various aspects of the disclosure may take the form of an entirely or partially hardware aspect, an entirely or partially software aspect, or a combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, as described herein, various aspects of the disclosure (e.g., systems and methods) may take the form of a computer program product comprising a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having processor- accessible instructions (e.g., computer-readable and / or computer-executable instructions) such as computer software, encoded or otherwise embodied in such storage medium. Those instructions can be read or otherwise accessed and executed by one or more processors, individually or in combination, to perform or permit the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions can be provided in any suitable form, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, assembler code, combinations of the foregoing, and the like. Any suitable computer-Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) readable non-transitory storage medium may be utilized to form the computer program product. For instance, the computer-readable medium may include any tangible non- transitory medium for storing information in a form readable or otherwise accessible by one or more computers or processor(s) functionally coupled thereto. Non-transitory storage media can include read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, and so forth.

[0127] Aspects of this disclosure are described herein with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of processor-implemented methods, systems, devices, apparatuses, and computer program products. It can be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by processor-accessible instructions. Such instructions may include, for example, computer program instructions (e.g., processor-readable and / or processor-executable instructions). The processor-accessible instructions may be built (e.g., linked and compiled) and retained in processor-executable form in one or multiple memory devices or one or many other processor-accessible non-transitory storage media. These computer program instructions also can be stored in a processor-readable memory, where in response to execution by one or more processors, individually or in combination, the computer program instructions can direct a computer, a computing device, or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including processor-accessible instructions (e.g., processor-readable instructions and / or processorexecutable instructions) to implement the function specified in the flowchart blocks (individually or in a particular combination) or blocks in block diagrams (individually or in a particular combination). The computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer, a computing device, or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process. The series of operations may be performed in response to execution by one or more processor or other types of processing circuitry. Thus, such instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart blocks (individually or in a particular combination) or blocks in block diagrams (individually or in a particular combination).Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0128] In some implementations, the processor-accessible instructions may be loaded or otherwise incorporated into a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or another programmable information processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the operations or functions specified in flowchart blocks or other blocks presented in this disclosure can be implemented in response to execution at the computer or processing apparatus. More specifically, the loaded processor-accessible instructions may be accessed and executed by one or multiple processors, individually or in combination, or other types of processing circuitry. In response to execution, the loaded processor-accessible instructions provide the functionality described in connection with flowchart blocks (individually or in a particular combination) or blocks in block diagrams (individually or in a particular combination). Thus, such instructions which execute on a computer, a computing device, or other programmable data processing apparatus can create a means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart blocks (individually or in a particular combination) or blocks in block diagrams (individually or in a particular combination).

[0129] As used in this disclosure, including the annexed drawings, in some aspects the terms “component,” “module,” “interface,” “system,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or an entity related to an apparatus with one or more specific functionalities. The entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. One or more of such entities are also referred to as “functional elements.” As an example, a component can be a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer. For example, both an application running on a server or network controller, and the server or network controller can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and / or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. Also, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components can communicate via local and / or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and / or across a network such as the Internet with other systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, which parts can be controlled or otherwise operated by program code executedDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) by a processor. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts, the electronic components can include a processor to execute program code that provides, at least partially, the functionality of the electronic components. As still another example, interface (s) can include I / O components or Application Programming Interface (API) components. While the foregoing examples are directed to aspects of a component, the exemplified aspects or features also apply to a system, module, and similar.

[0130] Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any protocol, procedure, process, functionality or combination of functionalities, or method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its acts or steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a process or method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its acts or steps or it is not otherwise specifically recited in the claims or descriptions of the subject disclosure that he steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is in no way intended that an order be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation, including; matters of logic with respect to the arrangement of steps or operational flow; plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation; the number or type of aspects described in the specification or annexed drawings; or the like.

[0131] As used in this disclosure, including the annexed drawings, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any ofthe natural inclusive permutations. That is, ifX employs A; X employs B; orX employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. Moreover, articles “a” and “an” as used in this specification and annexed drawings should be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.

[0132] In addition, the terms “example” and “such as” are utilized herein to mean serving as an instance or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as an “example” or referred to in connection with a “such as” clause is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs described herein. Rather, use of the terms “example” or “such as” is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in the claims and description, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only and doesn't necessarily indicate or imply any order in time or space.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0133] The term “processor,” as utilized in this disclosure, refers to any computing processing unit or device comprising processing circuitry that can operate on data and / or signaling. A computing processing unit or device may include, for example, single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor may include an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0134] In addition, terms such as “store,” “data store,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any other information storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Moreover, a memory component can be removable or affixed to a functional element (e.g., device, server).

[0135] Simply as an illustration, nonvolatile memory can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methods herein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0136] Various aspects described herein can be implemented as a method, system, device, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. In addition, various of the aspects disclosed herein also can be implemented by means of program modules or other types of computer programDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) instructions stored in a memory device and executed by a processor, or other combination of hardware and software, or hardware and firmware. Such program modules or computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or another type of programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create a means for implementing the functionality of disclosed herein.

[0137] The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard drive disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, or similar), optical discs (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), blu-ray disc (BD), or similar), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive, or similar).

[0138] Some further example aspects of the apparatuses and methods described herein are provided in the following clauses.

[0139] 1. An apparatus, comprising:

[0140] a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and

[0141] a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction,

[0142] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and

[0143] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0144] 2. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the first section of the conveyance equipment and the second section of the conveyance equipment are different, adjacent sections.

[0145] 3. The apparatus of clause 1 or 2, wherein the first section of the conveyance equipment and the second section of the conveyance equipment are a same section.

[0146] 4. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein each of the one or more first coils of the first coil assembly or each of the one or more second coils of the second coil assembly extend in a plane parallel to the transportation pathway.

[0147] 5. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein each of the one or more first coils of the first coil assembly or each of the one or more second coils of the second coil assembly extend in a plane that intersects with the transportation pathway.

[0148] 6. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein each of the one or more first coils of the first coil assembly and each of the one or more second coils of the second coil assembly extend in respective planes that intersect with the transportation pathway.

[0149] 7. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the one or more first coils are configured to generate the first magnetic field having a first primary component along the first direction, wherein the first direction is parallel to the transportation pathway, and a second primary component along the second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the transportation pathway; and

[0150] wherein the one or more second coils are configured to generate the second magnetic field having a first primary component along the first direction and a second primary component along a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

[0151] 8. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, further comprising a structure mounted to a third section of the conveyance equipment, the third section spanning the first section and the second section, wherein the first coil assembly and the second coil assembly are each mounted to the structure.

[0152] 9. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, further comprising multiple sensors disposed at respective positions along the transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment.

[0153] 10. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, further comprising a control unit configured to:Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0154] receive, from a first sensor of the multiple sensors, an indication that a first edge of the receptacle is at a particular position within the first section; and

[0155] cause one or more energy storage devices to energize the one or more first coils in sequence, each one of the one or more first coils being energized for a defined duration.

[0156] 11. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein energizing a particular coil of the one or more first coils comprises applying a current waveform to the particular coil for the defined duration.

[0157]

[0158] 12. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

[0159] receive, from the first sensor, a second indication that a second edge of the receptacle has passed the particular position within the first section, the second edge opposite the first edge; and

[0160] cause the one or more energy storage devices to cease energizing the one or more first coils.

[0161] 13. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

[0162] receive, from a second sensor of the multiple sensors, a second indication that the first edge of the receptacle is at a particular position within the second section; and

[0163] cause the one or more energy storage devices to energize the one or more second coils in sequence, each one of the one or more second coils being energized for the defined duration.

[0164] 14. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein energizing a particular coil of the one or more second coils comprises applying a current waveform to the particular coil for the defined duration.

[0165] 15. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

[0166] receive, from the second sensor, a third indication that the second edge of the receptacle has passed the particular position within the second section; and

[0167] cause the one or more energy storage devices to cease energizing the one or more second coils.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0168] 16. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the first coil assembly comprises a first rectangular coil and a second rectangular coil nested with one another at a defined angle, and wherein a plane containing the first rectangular coil and a plane containing the second rectangular coil are tilted relative to the transportation pathway.

[0169] 17. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the second coil assembly comprises a third rectangular coil and a fourth rectangular coil nested with one another at a second defined angle, and wherein a plane containing the third rectangular coil and a plane containing the fourth rectangular coil are rotated relative to the transportation pathway.

[0170] 18. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein the conveyance equipment comprises a conveyor including one or more of drive rollers mechanically coupled with at least one rail of the conveyor; idle rollers mechanically coupled with the at least one rail; or a belt assembled to carry objects along the transportation pathway.

[0171]

[0172] 19. The apparatus of any of the above clauses, wherein a subset of the drive rollers or a subset of the idle rollers spans the first section and the second section, and

[0173] wherein each roller in the subset of the drive rollers or the subset of the idle rollers is mounted to a particular rail of the at least one rail and is electrically insulated from the particular rail.

[0174] 20. A method, comprising:

[0175] updating a counter indicative of a number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in a deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of acousto- magnetic (AM) tag / label devices;

[0176] determining, based on the updating, that the counter is equal to or greater than a threshold value; and

[0177] causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation.

[0178] 21. The method of clause 20, further comprising:

[0179] determining that a defined amount of time has elapsed since the causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation; and

[0180] causing the deactivation apparatus to resume the bulk deactivation.

[0181] 22. The method of clause 20 or 21, wherein the defined amount of time is one of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0182] 23. The method of any of clauses 20 to 22, wherein the causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation comprises de-energizing the deactivation apparatus.

[0183] 24. The method of any of clauses 20 to 23, wherein resuming the bulk deactivation comprises energizing the deactivation apparatus.

[0184] 25. The method of any of clauses 20 to 24, wherein the deactivation apparatus comprises:

[0185] a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and

[0186] a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction,

[0187] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and

[0188] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

[0189] 26. A method comprising:

[0190] updating a first metric representative of heat dissipated by a first deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic (AM) tag / label devices, with the first metric being based on time and number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in the deactivation apparatus;

[0191] determining, based on the updating, that a value of the first metric is equal to or greater than a first threshold value;

[0192] causing the first deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation; andDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0193] sending an indication to a second deactivation apparatus to initiate bulk deactivation of second AM tag / label devices.

[0194] 27. The method of clause 26, further comprising:

[0195] causing the first deactivation apparatus to transition to an inactive state indicative of excessive heat;

[0196] updating a second metric indicative of heat dissipated by the first deactivation apparatus in the inactive state, with the second metric being based on time and a defined number of pulses per deactivation cycle;

[0197] determining, based on the updating the second metric in the inactive state, that a value of the second metric is equal to or less than a second threshold value;

[0198] causing the second deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation of the second AM tag / label devices; and

[0199] sending a second indication to the first deactivation apparatus to resume bulk deactivation of the first AM tag / label devices.

[0200] 28. The method of clause 26 or 27, further comprising:

[0201] updating a second metric indicative of heat dissipated by the second deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of second AM tag / label devices, with the second metric being based on time and number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in the second deactivation apparatus;

[0202] determining, based on the updating the second metric, that a value of the second metric is equal to or greater than a second threshold value;

[0203] causing the second deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation of the second AM tag / label devices; and

[0204] sending a second indication to the first deactivation apparatus to resume bulk deactivation of the first AM tag / label devices.

[0205] 29. The method of any of clauses 26 to 28, wherein a deactivation pulse comprises a defined amount of electrical current applied during a defined time interval.

[0206] 30. The method of any of clauses 26 to 29, wherein the first deactivation apparatus comprises:

[0207] a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction,Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and

[0208] a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction,

[0209] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and

[0210] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

[0211] 31. The method of any of clauses 26 to 30, wherein the second deactivation apparatus comprises:

[0212] a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and

[0213] a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction,

[0214] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and

[0215] wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)

[0216] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof’ include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof’ may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

[0217] What has been described above includes examples of one or more aspects and designs of this disclosure. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing these examples, and it can be recognized that many further combinations and permutations of the present aspects are possible. Thus, all or a portion of any aspect may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect, unless stated otherwise. Accordingly, the aspects disclosed and / or claimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the detailed description and the appendedDocket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) claims. Furthermore, to the extent that one or more of the terms “includes,” “including,” “has,” “have,” or “having” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

[0218] While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative aspects and / or embodiments, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the described aspects and / or embodiments as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and / or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and / or embodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and / or embodiment, unless stated otherwise.

Claims

Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising: a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction, wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first section of the conveyance equipment and the second section of the conveyance equipment are different, adjacent sections.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first section of the conveyance equipment and the second section of the conveyance equipment are a same section.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more first coils of the first coil assembly or each of the one or more second coils of the second coil assembly extend in a plane parallel to the transportation pathway.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more first coils of the first coil assembly or each of the one or more second coils of the second coil assembly extend in a plane that intersects with the transportation pathway.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more first coils of the first coil assembly and each of the one or more second coils of the second coil assembly extend in respective planes that intersect with the transportation pathway.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more first coils are configured to generate the first magnetic field having a first primary component along the first direction, wherein the first direction is parallel to the transportation pathway, and a second primary component along the second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the transportation pathway; and wherein the one or more second coils are configured to generate the second magnetic field having a first primary component along the first direction and a second primary component along a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a structure mounted to a third section of the conveyance equipment, the third section spanning the first section and the second section, wherein the first coil assembly and the second coil assembly are each mounted to the structure.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising multiple sensors disposed at respective positions along the transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a control unit configured to: receive, from a first sensor of the multiple sensors, an indication that a first edge of the receptacle is at a particular position within the first section; and cause one or more energy storage devices to energize the one or more first coils in sequence, each one of the one or more first coils being energized for a defined duration.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein energizing a particular coil of the one or more first coils comprises applying a current waveform to the particular coil for the defined duration.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive, from the first sensor, a second indication that a second edge of the receptacle has passed the particular position within the first section, the second edge opposite the first edge; and cause the one or more energy storage devices to cease energizing the one or more first coils.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive, from a second sensor of the multiple sensors, a second indication that the first edge of the receptacle is at a particular position within the second section; and cause the one or more energy storage devices to energize the one or more second coils in sequence, each one of the one or more second coils being energized for the defined duration.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein energizing a particular coil of the one or more second coils comprises applying a current waveform to the particular coil for the defined duration.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive, from the second sensor, a third indication that the second edge of the receptacle has passed the particular position within the second section; and cause the one or more energy storage devices to cease energizing the one or more second coils.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first coil assembly comprises a first rectangular coil and a second rectangular coil nested with one another at a defined angle,Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) and wherein a plane containing the first rectangular coil and a plane containing the second rectangular coil are tilted relative to the transportation pathway.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second coil assembly comprises a third rectangular coil and a fourth rectangular coil nested with one another at a second defined angle, and wherein a plane containing the third rectangular coil and a plane containing the fourth rectangular coil are rotated relative to the transportation pathway.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conveyance equipment comprises a conveyor including one or more of drive rollers mechanically coupled with at least one rail of the conveyor; idle rollers mechanically coupled with the at least one rail; or a belt assembled to carry objects along the transportation pathway.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein a subset ofthe drive rollers or a subset of the idle rollers spans the first section and the second section, and wherein each roller in the subset of the drive rollers or the subset of the idle rollers is mounted to a particular rail of the at least one rail and is electrically insulated from the particular rail.

20. A method, comprising: updating a counter indicative of a number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in a deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic (AM) tag / label devices; determining, based on the updating, that the counter is equal to or greater than a threshold value; and causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: determining that a defined amount of time has elapsed since the causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation; and causing the deactivation apparatus to resume the bulk deactivation.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the defined amount of time is one of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)23. The method of claim 21 , wherein the causing the deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation comprises de-energizing the deactivation apparatus.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein resuming the bulk deactivation comprises energizing the deactivation apparatus.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the deactivation apparatus comprises: a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction, wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

26. A method comprising: updating a first metric representative of heat dissipated by a first deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of acousto-magnetic (AM) tag / label devices, with the first metric being based on time and number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in the deactivation apparatus;Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) determining, based on the updating, that a value of the first metric is equal to or greater than a first threshold value; causing the first deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation; and sending an indication to a second deactivation apparatus to initiate bulk deactivation of second AM tag / label devices.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: causing the first deactivation apparatus to transition to an inactive state indicative of excessive heat; updating a second metric indicative of heat dissipated by the first deactivation apparatus in the inactive state, with the second metric being based on time and a defined number of pulses per deactivation cycle; determining, based on the updating the second metric in the inactive state, that a value of the second metric is equal to or less than a second threshold value; causing the second deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation of the second AM tag / label devices; and sending a second indication to the first deactivation apparatus to resume bulk deactivation of the first AM tag / label devices.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising: updating a second metric indicative of heat dissipated by the second deactivation apparatus during bulk deactivation of second AM tag / label devices, with the second metric being based on time and number of deactivation pulses applied to coil assemblies in the second deactivation apparatus; determining, based on the updating the second metric, that a value of the second metric is equal to or greater than a second threshold value; causing the second deactivation apparatus to stop the bulk deactivation of the second AM tag / label devices; and sending a second indication to the first deactivation apparatus to resume bulk deactivation of the first AM tag / label devices.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein a deactivation pulse comprises a defined amount of electrical current applied during a defined time interval.Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018)30. The method of claim 26, wherein the first deactivation apparatus comprises: a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction, wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the second deactivation apparatus comprises: a first coil assembly positioned at a first section of conveyance equipment, wherein the first coil assembly includes one or more first coils and defines a first opening to permit passage of a receptacle along a transportation pathway of the conveyance equipment, wherein the transportation pathway extends along a first orthogonal direction, wherein the first coil assembly is configured to generate at least one first magnetic field having at least one primary component along a first direction; and a second coil assembly positioned at a second section of the conveyance equipment, wherein the second coil assembly includes one or more second coils and defines a second opening to permit passage of the receptacle, wherein the second coil assembly is configured to generate at least one second magnetic field having at least one primary component along a second direction,Docket No.: RS-23-7976-WO (039636.08018) wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one first magnetic field is in one or two of the first orthogonal direction, a second orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction, or a third orthogonal direction relative to the first orthogonal direction and the second orthogonal direction, and wherein the at least one primary component of the at least one second magnetic field is in a remaining one or two of the first orthogonal direction, the second orthogonal direction, or the third orthogonal direction.

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