Integrated RFID Textile Tags With Dynamic Antenna Tuning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional RFID tag solutions for textile products face issues such as damage during sewing, ease of removal, discomfort due to thickness, and reduced performance due to meandering antennas, leading to security and functionality challenges.
Innovation Solution
A thin, narrow, machine-washable substrate with electronic components is used, coated with flexible fluid-resistant material, and integrated into items using a specialized machine to ensure secure and comfortable placement without damaging the tags, optimizing antenna length and performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard sewing techniques are used to incorporate RFID tags into textile products, then the tags can be integrated into the items, but the tags are damaged during sewing causing failure rates of 1-20%
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible substrate (such as flexible circuit board or thin film) to mount the RFID tag components, allowing the tag to be integrated into textile products without rigid structures that would resist sewing. The flexible substrate can bend and flex during sewing operations, preventing damage to the tag while maintaining electrical connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs protective coverings or encapsulation materials that surround the RFID tag components before sewing occurs. These protective layers cushion the tag during the sewing process, absorbing mechanical stresses and preventing damage to sensitive electronic components while allowing the sewing needle to pass through.
2Ease of operation
If RFID tags are placed on care or brand labels, then the tags are easily accessible and can be read, but the tags can be easily removed from the retail items using a cutting tool
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the RFID tag directly into the textile product structure itself, merging the tag with the fabric or garment construction. The tag is embedded within seams, layers, or structural elements of the product, making it impossible to separate the tag from the item without destroying the product itself, thereby preventing theft while maintaining readability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent embeds the RFID tag within nested layers of the textile product, such as placing the tag between fabric layers, within seam allowances, or inside structural components. This nesting approach conceals the tag while keeping it accessible to readers, and makes removal impossible without disassembling the product structure.
3Shape
If the RFID tag substrate is made thin and narrow for comfort, then the tag is comfortable to wear and not visible, but the antenna needs to be meandered which reduces RFID tag performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the antenna design from a two-dimensional meandered pattern to a three-dimensional structure. The antenna is formed using vertical conductive traces through multiple substrate layers, creating a folded or stacked configuration that achieves the required electrical length without requiring large horizontal space or meandering patterns, thus maintaining both thin profile and high performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structures with multiple conductive layers separated by dielectric layers. This allows the antenna to achieve resonant frequencies and performance characteristics equivalent to larger single-layer designs, while maintaining a compact, thin overall structure that does not require meandering patterns.
4Strength
If a thick coating is applied to the wire for physical strength, then the RFID tag thread has sufficient strength, but the tag can be felt by someone touching the cloth and can be seen after ironing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an extremely thin flexible substrate (such as a thin film or flexible circuit board) to mount the RFID tag components. This thin substrate provides sufficient structural support for the tag while being thin enough to be imperceptible to touch and invisible when the fabric is ironed, eliminating the visibility and tactile presence problems associated with thicker coatings.
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 a secure, comfortable, and high-performance RFID tag integration that withstands wash cycles and maintains antenna integrity, reducing failure rates and enhancing security and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
a wireless IC tag comprises an IC chip with a response circuit for receiving a signal sent from an interrogator and transmitting a response signal in response to the received signal
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for integrating tags with items. The methods comprise: turning a reel by an amount that allows a portion of an elongate narrow substrate that includes a first tag of a plurality of tags to be paid out (where each of the plurality of tags comprises at least one antenna formed of a trace or wire disposed on the elongate narrow substrate and a communication enabled device coupled to the elongate narrow substrate so as to have an electrical coupling or connection with the at least one antenna); dynamically tuning the first tag to optimize tag performance in view of dielectric and tuning properties of a first item being fabricated; cutting the elongate narrow substrate so as to cause the first tag to be placed on the first item being fabricated; and coupling the first tag to the item being fabricated.