Near field coupling devices and associated systems and methods
View Patent ↗A near-field coupling device that may facilitate communications with a transponder is provided. The near-field coupling device may include a ground plane, a dielectric substrate, one or more conductive strips and a terminating load. The conductive strips together with the ground planes form coupling elements. The near-field coupling device further includes one or more switching elements for selectively connecting and disconnecting the coupling elements with a transceiver. The connected coupling elements define a total characteristic impedance. Using the switching element, the ratio between the total characteristic impedance of the connected coupling elements and the terminating load may be changed in order to adjust the distribution of an electromagnetic field along the coupling elements according to the type and position of the transponder to be processed.
1. A near field coupler system comprising:
a transceiver; and
a near field coupler in electrical communication with the transceiver, the near field coupler configured to transmit wireless signals to a targeted transponder, the near field coupler comprising:
a dielectric substrate having a first surface and a second surface;
a ground plane adjacent to the second surface of the dielectric substrate;
radiating elements disposed on the first surface of the dielectric substrate, wherein:
the radiating elements are coupled to the ground plane through one or more terminating resistors;
a first radiating element of the radiating elements defines a first impedance;
a second radiating element of the radiating elements defines a second impedance;
the first impedance, in isolation, is different from the second impedance, in isolation; and
at least one switching element coupled to each of the radiating elements, wherein the at least one switching element is:
configured to be in electrical communication with the transceiver; and
configured to selectively activate one or more radiating elements among the radiating elements to provide selective wireless communications between the transceiver and the one or more of the radiating elements to communicate with the targeted transponder having an unknown orientation relative to the radiating elements.
2. The near field coupler system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one switching element is further configured to selectively activate the one or more radiating elements to minimize inadvertent communications with transponders other than the targeted transponder while enabling a reliable encoding of the targeted transponder.
3. The near field coupler system of claim 1 further comprising a processor configured to determine a transceiver power level required to effectively communicate with the targeted transponder.
4. The near field coupler system of claim 3 further comprising a non-transitory storage device used to store data associated with the transceiver power level, wherein the data is accessed to communicate with subsequent transponders arranged in the unknown orientation.
5. The near field coupler system of claim 3 , wherein the transceiver power level is a highest transceiver power level possible without allowing inadvertent communication with transponders other than the targeted transponder.
6. The near field coupler system of claim 3 , wherein the transceiver power level is the lowest transceiver power level required to effectively communicate with the targeted transponder.
7. The near field coupler system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one switching element is comprised of a plurality of switches and wherein the number of switches is equal to or less than the number of radiating elements.
8. The near field coupler system of claim 1 further comprising a processor configured to determine a preferred configuration of the at least one switching element to effectively communicate with the targeted transponder while minimizing inadvertent communications with transponders other than the targeted transponder and while enabling a reliable encoding of the targeted transponder.
9. The near field coupler system of claim 8 further comprising a non-transitory storage device used to store data associated with the preferred configuration of the least one switching element to later access the data to communicate with subsequent transponders arranged in the unknown orientation.
10. The near field coupler of claim 1 , wherein the radiating elements include at least three radiating elements and each radiating element is a conductive strip disposed on the first surface of the dielectric substrate.
11. The near field coupler system of claim 1 further comprising a printhead configured to print indicia upon a media unit associated with the targeted transponder.
12. The near field coupler system of claim 1 further comprising a sensor configured to identify a preferred configuration of the at least one switching element to effectively communicate with the targeted transponder while minimizing inadvertent communications with transponders other than the targeted transponder and while enabling a reliable encoding of the targeted transponder.
13. The near field coupler system of claim 1 further comprising a sensor configured to identify the unknown orientation of the targeted transponder.
14. A method of tuning a near field coupler system comprising:
transmitting a communication signal from a transceiver to a near field coupler, the near field coupler comprising radiating elements and at least one switching element, wherein:
a first radiating element of the radiating elements defines a first impedance;
a second radiating element of the radiating elements defines a second impedance;
the first impedance, in isolation, is different from the second impedance, in isolation; and
the at least one switching element is configured to provide selective electrical communication between the transceiver and one or more of the radiating elements among the radiating elements to define multiple radiating configurations for broadcasting wireless signals into a transponder operating region;
positioning a targeted transponder within the transponder operation region, wherein the targeted transponder is arranged in an unknown orientation;
broadcasting wireless signals into the transponder operating region;
determining a selected radiating configuration of the plurality of radiating configurations, wherein the at least one switching element defines the selected radiating configuration and wherein the selected radiating configuration provides selective wireless communications between the transceiver and the one or more of the radiating elements to communicate with the targeted transponder having the unknown orientation; and
storing data associated with the selected radiating configuration.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising determining a power level for each of the multiple radiating configurations that accommodates a reliable encoding of the targeted transponder, wherein determining the selected radiating configuration is based on the selected radiating configuration having a lowest power level among the power levels for each of the multiple radiating configurations.
16. The method of claim 14 further comprising determining a power level for each of the multiple radiating configurations that accommodates a reliable encoding of the targeted transponder, wherein determining the selected radiating configuration is based on the selected radiating configuration having a highest possible power level without allowing inadvertent communication with transponders other than the targeted transponder.
17. The method of claim 14 further comprising accessing the data and utilizing the selected radiating configuration for subsequent transponders arranged in the unknown orientation.
18. The method of claim 14 further comprising:
positioning a new transponder within the transponder operation region, wherein the new transponder is arranged in an orientation different than the unknown orientation;
determining a new radiating configuration of the plurality of radiating configurations, wherein the at least one switching element defines the new radiating configuration and wherein the new radiating configuration provides selective wireless communications between the transceiver and one or more of the radiating elements to communicate with the new transponder having the new orientation; and
storing new data associated with the new radiating configuration.
19. The method of claim 14 further comprising printing indicia upon a media unit associated with the targeted transponder.
20. The method of claim 14 further comprising identifying a preferred configuration of the at least one switching element to effectively communicate with the targeted transponder while minimizing inadvertent communications with transponders other than the targeted transponder and while enabling a reliable encoding of the targeted transponder.
21. The method of claim 14 further comprising identifying the unknown orientation of the targeted transponder.