RFID Transponder Antenna Segments for Buried Structure Identification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing RFID tags for buried structures face challenges in maintaining resonance frequency tolerance and manufacturing cost efficiency due to sensitivity to environmental factors and manufacturing processes, particularly when increasing the number of loops or antenna surface area, which leads to reduced detection capacity and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
A transponder design with closely arranged antenna segments, allowing for coupling capacitors to widen the resonance frequency tolerance band, eliminating the need for a substrate and simplifying the manufacturing process, while achieving a high quality factor and energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number of loops or antenna surface area is increased to improve detection capacity, then the resonance frequency tolerance deteriorates due to sensitivity to manufacturing and environmental variations
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna is divided into multiple separate segments rather than using a single continuous loop structure. This segmentation allows each segment to be independently positioned and connected, reducing the cumulative impact of manufacturing tolerances on the overall resonance frequency while maintaining sufficient total antenna area for detection capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Connection elements are introduced as intermediaries between antenna segments. These connection elements serve as mediators that accommodate manufacturing variations and environmental changes, allowing the antenna segments to be assembled with reasonable tolerances while maintaining the required resonance frequency stability for RFID operation.
2Ease of manufacture
If a substrate is used to support the antenna structure, then manufacturing complexity increases, but without a substrate the structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is extracted and removed from the antenna structure. The antenna segments are designed to function independently without requiring a continuous substrate support, thereby eliminating the manufacturing complexity and cost associated with substrate production while maintaining sufficient structural stability through the segment-interconnection architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a rigid substrate, the invention employs flexible connection elements and thin-film structures to support and connect the antenna segments. This approach provides the necessary structural stability while allowing for simpler, more cost-effective manufacturing processes that eliminate the need for traditional substrate production.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the antenna segments are arranged close together to create coupling capacitors, then the resonance frequency tolerance band widens, but the manufacturing precision requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna segment arrangement is designed to be dynamic rather than rigidly fixed. The connection elements allow for adjustment and accommodation of positioning variations, enabling the segments to achieve proper alignment for coupling capacitor formation without requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances. This dynamic approach widens the acceptable frequency tolerance band.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of segment spacing from a fixed, precisely controlled dimension to a variable parameter that can accommodate manufacturing variations. By designing the connection system to tolerate a range of spacing values, the coupling capacitor effect is maintained across a wider frequency tolerance band without requiring ultra-precise segment alignment.
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 transponder with a high quality factor of 100, allowing a 400 kHz frequency drift tolerance, reduced manufacturing costs, and improved energy efficiency, enabling flexible component and conductor implementation across various climatic conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The system then consists of a transmitter (active part, which is power generator) and a transponder (passive part, wirelessly receiving electric power). In this frequency range the reading distances are generally less than 1 meter.
Implementation Method 2
said antenna segments are arranged close to each other, at a distance of less than 3 mm and preferably less than 1 mm, so as to allow the appearance of coupling capacitors capable of widening the band of tolerance on the RFID resonance frequency.
Implementation Method 3
The arrangement has to resonate at a frequency close to the signal frequency, and as known to a skilled man, the equation determining the resonant frequency is: f0 = 1/(2π√(Lant·Cacc))
Data Source
AI summary
A transponder for a RFID-type wireless communication and contactless identification system configured to be affixed to (or close to) structure intended to be buried, said transponder comprising:a set of antenna segments consisting of electrical wires constituting at least a first and a second antenna element (203-1, 203-2),a circuit board comprising a RFID chip and at least one tuning capacitance (202x) as well as coupling means (281) allowing the electrical coupling of said antenna segments;characterized in that said antenna segments are arranged close to each other, at a distance of less than 3 mm and preferably less than 1 mm, so as to allow the appearance of coupling capacities (280) capable of widening the band of tolerance on the RFID resonance frequency.