Basal-Pivoting Underwater RFID Antenna for Debris Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional RFID antenna systems for underwater applications are prone to damage from high water velocities and debris in streams and rivers, limiting their effectiveness in reading RFID tags throughout the entire water column.
Innovation Solution
The development of vertically-oriented RFID antenna arrays with a hydrodynamic teardrop-shaped profile and pivoting structures that allow independent movement to withstand turbulence and debris, maintaining a vertical or angled position to ensure consistent tag detection across the entire water column.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional air coil antennas are mounted upright within the water column perpendicular to flow, then the charging zone and read zone can extend to the entire water column, but the antennas are more likely to be damaged by floating debris and high water velocities
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna assembly incorporates a pivoting mechanism that allows the antenna to dynamically adjust its orientation in response to water flow and debris impacts. The antenna can pivot from a vertical position (optimal for read zone) to a more horizontal position (protective against debris), resolving the contradiction between maintaining detection capability and avoiding physical damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the antenna by adjusting its orientation angle through the pivoting mechanism. By varying the antenna's angular position relative to the water flow, the system optimizes both the read zone coverage and the protective positioning against harmful factors like debris and high velocity currents.
2Reliability
If antennas are positioned to read RFID tags throughout the entire water column, then detection coverage is maximized, but the antennas are more exposed to physical abuse from high water velocity and turbulence
Solution Approach 1:
The pivoting mechanism enables the antenna to dynamically shift between vertical positioning (for consistent tag detection throughout the water column) and protective positioning (reducing exposure to physical abuse). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between maintaining detection consistency and resisting physical damage from high water velocity and turbulence.
3Measurement precision
If the antenna is held in a fixed vertical position, then tag detection is consistent, but the antenna cannot withstand temporary bursts of force from high water flow or debris
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna assembly transitions from a fixed vertical position (optimal for precise tag detection) to a dynamic pivoting system that can adapt to water flow variations and debris impacts. The pivoting mechanism allows the antenna to maintain detection precision when conditions permit while providing adaptability to withstand temporary bursts of force from high water flow or passing debris.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivoting mechanism provides preliminary protective action by allowing the antenna to deflect away from debris and high-velocity water before damage can occur. This preliminary movement prevents the full force of water flow or debris impact from being transmitted to the antenna structure, while still maintaining detection capability when conditions are favorable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The antenna arrays are less susceptible to damage, enabling consistent detection and interrogation of RFID tags throughout the water column, and allow for precise data collection through variable sampling schemes.
Implementation Method 1
The symmetric nature of the hydrodynamic teardrop shape keeps lateral hydrodynamic/hydraulic forces on the antenna neutral, while also minimizing the effects of hydrodynamic drag and flow-induced vibration exerted on the antennas by the flow of water past the antennas in the array.
Implementation Method 2
The symmetric nature of the hydrodynamic teardrop shape keeps lateral hydrodynamic/hydraulic forces on the antenna neutral, while also minimizing the effects of hydrodynamic drag and flow-induced vibration exerted on the antennas by the flow of water past the antennas in the array.
Implementation Method 3
The pivots are oriented generally so that, in moving water deployments, individual antennas may pivot independently downstream responsive to temporary (or even momentary) bursts of additional force caused by, for example, seasonal high water flow, turbulence or passing or accumulating debris.
Data Source
AI summary
An underwater basal-pivoting antenna assembly (or array thereof) suitable for subsurface RFID tag interrogation in flowing water such as a river. In preferred embodiments, the antenna interrogates RFID tags implanted in aquatic species. The antenna resides in an elongate antenna housing whose cross-sectional shape is preferably a hydrodynamic teardrop shape. When the assembly is deployed in water with a lower end thereof anchored below an upper end, the lower end of the housing is linked to a pivot/swivel mechanism such that when the pivot/swivel mechanism is held substantially stationary with respect to the water flow, the upper end of the housing is free to rotate generally about the first end, including in a substantially vertical plane parallel to the water flow direction. The length of the antenna housing is advantageously selected to enable the antenna to monitor for signals across substantially the entire water depth.