Radio frequency identification (RFID) system for a forklift

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system for a forklift, the system comprising:

a metal plate;

an electronic circuit assembly attached to the metal plate; and

an antenna assembly comprising at least one of an RFID interrogator antenna and a wireless local area network (WLAN) antenna, the antenna assembly attached to the metal plate whereby the metal plate is operative as a ground plane of the antenna assembly and is further operative as a mounting plate for mounting the RFID system on one of a carriage and a sideshifter of the forklift.

2. The RFID system of claim 1 , wherein the metal plate comprises a first projecting portion configured to overlap at least a portion of an upper horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift when the metal plate is mounted on the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

3. The RFID system of claim 2 , wherein the metal plate further comprises a second projecting portion configured to overlap at least a portion of a lower horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift when the metal plate is mounted on the carriage of the forklift.

4. The RFID system of claim 3 , wherein the second projecting portion comprises at least one of a) a planar flange projecting orthogonally to a major surface of the metal plate, b) a J-shaped edge of the metal plate, c) a J-shaped flange attached to the major surface of the metal plate, and d) a J-shaped hook attached to the major surface of the metal plate.

5. The RFID system of claim 4 , wherein the second projecting portion contains an opening through which is inserted a threaded bolt operative to be mated with a threaded aperture located in the lower horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

6. The RFID system of claim 5 , wherein the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter is an unmodified original equipment manufacture (OEM) component of the forklift.

7. The RFID system of claim 2 , wherein the metal plate is mounted between a pair of forks of the forklift.

8. The RFID system of claim 7 , wherein the mounting is carried out by using a unitary anchoring device to anchor the metal plate to the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

9. The RFID system of claim 8 , wherein the unitary anchoring device is a bolt that is inserted through an opening in the first projecting portion of the metal plate to make contact with the upper horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift, the bolt being operative to be friction-fit tightened against the upper horizontal surface.

10. The RFID system of claim 7 , wherein the mounting is carried out by mating the first projecting portion of the metal plate to an upper horizontal lip of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift, the first projecting portion being shaped to conformably mate with the upper horizontal lip.

11. The RFID system of claim 7 , wherein the electronic circuit assembly comprises an RFID tag reader attached to a first major surface of the metal plate and the antenna assembly is attached to a second major surface opposing the first major surface of the metal plate, the antenna assembly being electrically coupled to the RFID tag reader through an opening in the metal plate.

12. The RFID system of claim 7 , wherein the antenna assembly comprises a housing that encloses and mechanically protects the RFID interrogator antenna and the wireless local area network (WLAN) antenna, the housing being transparent to radio frequency (RF) signals.

13. The RFID system of claim 12 , wherein the electronic circuit assembly faces the chassis of the forklift and the antenna assembly faces away from the chassis of the forklift, whereby the electronic circuit assembly is protected from impact by a foreign object.

14. The RFID system of claim 2 , wherein the first projecting portion comprises at least one of a) a planar flange projecting orthogonally to a major surface of the metal plate, b) an inverted J-shaped edge of the metal plate, c) an inverted J-shaped flange attached to the major surface of the metal plate, and d) an inverted J-shaped hook attached to the major surface of the metal plate.

15. A method of mounting an RFID system on a forklift, the method comprising:

providing a metal plate;

attaching to the metal plate, an antenna assembly of the RFID system, the antenna assembly containing at least one of an RFID interrogator antenna and a wireless local area network (WLAN) antenna; and

mounting the metal plate on one of a carriage and a sideshifter of the forklift using a first projecting portion of the metal plate, the first projecting portion configured to overlap at least a portion of an upper horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift when the metal plate is mounted on the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising mounting the metal plate on one of a carriage and a sideshifter of the forklift using a second projecting portion of the metal plate, the second projecting portion configured to overlap at least a portion of a lower horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift when the metal plate is mounted on the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

inserting a threaded bolt through a hole in the first projecting portion; and

anchoring the metal plate to the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift by tightening the threaded bolt against the upper horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

inserting a threaded bolt through a hole in the first projecting portion; and

mating the threaded bolt to an OEM threaded aperture located in the upper horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

inserting a threaded bolt through the second projecting portion; and

mating the threaded bolt to an OEM threaded aperture located in the lower horizontal surface of the at least one of the carriage and the sideshifter of the forklift.

20. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system for a forklift, the system comprising:

a metal plate having a first horizontally projecting portion projecting orthogonally to a major plane of the metal plate, the metal plate adapted for mounting the RFID system on one of a carriage and a sideshifter of the forklift using the first projecting portion that is configured to overlap at least a portion of an upper horizontal surface of the one of a carriage and a sideshifter of the forklift between a pair of forks of the forklift.

21. The RFID system of claim 20 , further comprising:

an electronic circuit assembly mounted on a first major surface of the metal plate; and

an antenna assembly comprising at least one of an RFID interrogator antenna and a wireless local area network (WLAN) antenna, the antenna assembly attached to a second major surface opposite the first major surface of the metal plate.

22. The RFID system of claim 21 , wherein the metal plate further comprises a recessed portion and the antenna assembly is located in the recessed portion.

23. The RFID system of claim 22 , wherein the metal plate further comprises an opening through which is inserted a connecting cable that connects the RFID interrogator antenna to a component of the electronic circuit assembly.

24. The RFID system of claim 23 , wherein the RFID system further comprises a sensor mounted on the metal plate, the sensor configured to detect the presence of an object placed on the pair of forks of the forklift.

25. The RFID system of claim 20 , wherein a height of the metal plate exceeds a width of the metal plate.

26. The RFID system of claim 25 , wherein the height of the metal plate exceeds two times the width of the metal plate.

27. The RFID system of claim 20 , wherein the metal plate is operative as a lid of at least one of the electronic circuit assembly and the antenna assembly.