Laser-Tuned RFID Tags on Flexible Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current RFID tag solutions face challenges such as difficulty in removal from products without damage, security issues, and performance reduction due to placement on care/brand labels or within garments, especially when made of interfering materials or located in areas that hinder communication.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system and method for laser tuning and attaching RFID tags directly to products during fabrication, using a thin, flexible substrate with customizable conductive traces and antennas, allowing for secure and efficient integration without sewing, and optimizing tag performance based on item dielectric and tuning properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If RFID tags are attached to products using standard sewing techniques, then the tags can be integrated into cloth, but the sewing process damages the RFID tags causing failure rates of 1-20%
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical sewing process with a thermal bonding process using a heat press. The heat press applies controlled heat and pressure to bond the RFID tag to the product without penetrating needles that would damage the tag's electronic components. This substitution of mechanical action with thermal action resolves the contradiction between ease of manufacture and tag reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary adhesive layer or heat-activatable bonding material between the RFID tag and the product fabric. This intermediary medium allows for secure attachment through thermal or pressure activation without direct mechanical penetration of the tag, thus maintaining both ease of manufacture and tag reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If RFID tags are placed on care or brand labels, then the tags are easy to apply, but the tags are easy to remove using cutting tools and have reduced performance due to meandered antennas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical attachment method (adhesive on labels) with thermal bonding through a heat press. This creates a permanent bond that is difficult to remove without damaging the product, thus improving security while maintaining ease of application during the manufacturing process. The direct bonding also allows for optimized antenna design without meandering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the bonding process locally at the specific location where the RFID tag needs to be attached, using the heat press to concentrate thermal energy precisely at the tag-site interface. This localized treatment ensures strong bonding without affecting the rest of the product, and allows for optimized antenna geometry at the attachment point rather than meandered designs.
3Reliability
If RFID tags are placed in seams of garments, then tag detection is improved, but the tags may be visible when users wear the garment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin, flexible substrate for the RFID tag that can be bonded to the garment interior surfaces. The thin film construction allows the tag to conform to curved surfaces and remain invisible when the garment is worn, while still maintaining adequate detection performance through optimized antenna design and strategic placement in areas with good reader coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the RFID tag placement from traditional two-dimensional surface attachment to three-dimensional integration within the garment structure. By bonding thin tags to interior surfaces, seams, or layers, the tags become embedded in the garment's depth dimension, making them invisible from the outside while maintaining detection capability through optimized positioning.
4Strength
If a wire is coated by a thick coating to provide physical strength, then the RFID tag thread has strength, but the thread can be felt by someone touching the cloth and can be seen after ironing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical thread-based attachment system with a thermal bonding system. Instead of using coated wires or threads that provide strength through their physical structure, the heat press provides the necessary bonding force through thermal and pressure action. This eliminates the need for visible and tactile threads entirely, as the bonding occurs at the molecular level through heat-activatable adhesives or direct thermal bonding of materials.
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 solution provides secure, customizable, and efficient RFID tag integration that is difficult to feel or see, maintaining performance and preventing theft, while being machine washable and resistant to fluid exposure.
Implementation Method 1
a laser to alter the conductive trace on the substrate to have the characteristic to define an antenna for the tag
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for laser turning and attaching RFID tags to products. Such methods and systems may include a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The methods and systems may include determining a characteristic of a conductive trace on a substrate to be incorporated into an item to configure a tag performance in view of at least one of a dielectric property or a tuning property of the item. The methods and systems may further include a laser to alter the conductive trace on the substrate to have the characteristic to define an antenna for the tag. The methods and systems may further include an attaching device configured to attach a communications enabled device to the substrate so as to form an electrical connection between the communications enabled device and the antenna to form the tag.