ES1249189U - HIGH SPEED TUNNEL FOR MASS READING AND ENCODING OF RFID LABELS CONTAINED IN A PACKAGE (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

High speed tunnel for reading and massive encoding of RFID tags contained in a package that includes, at least: - Means of transport (1) by which the package moves, - An entrance guillotine door (2) to activate its quick opening and closing, - An exit guillotine door (3) to activate its quick opening and closing, - A high power antenna (4) for measuring RFID tags, and - A photocell (5), characterized in that The photocell (5) identifies the presence of the package that moves through the tunnel, activating the closing of the entrance sash door (2) and the exit sash door (3) by means of a motor (6) associated with a transmission shaft (7), pulleys (8) and belts (9); and activating the antenna (4) when the tunnel has the entrance sash door (2) and the exit sash door (3) closed. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

D E S C R I P T I O N

HIGH SPEED TUNNEL FOR MASSIVE READING AND CODING OF

RFID TAGS CONTAINED IN A PACKAGE

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The present invention refers to a high speed tunnel which enables the simultaneous reading and massive coding of a large volume of RFID tags in a short time and in a very advantageous way. Specifically, the tunnel of the invention is used for the identification and massive coding of RFID tags contained in that package or product that is automatically moving through the interior of the developed tunnel.

The object of the invention is to achieve a tunnel that, offering reduced dimensions, allows the rapid identification and coding of the labels of the elements present in a package by means of RFID technology.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

RFID ( Radio Frequency Identification) technology allows the identification, storage and transmission of remote data stored on labels using radio frequency. That is why RFID technology is widely used in parcels and logistics in order to quickly monitor and control the items that are shipped based on the orders received.

Tunnels are known in the current state of the art that identify RFID tag measurements when they are located in the same container or package, allowing the reading of a plurality of RFID tags simultaneously.

The main disadvantage of known tunnels resides in the time spent reading and encoding a large number of labels.

Additionally, another disadvantage of known equipment lies in the high dimensions of this type of equipment, which makes it difficult to install, occupying large spaces in companies with the corresponding waste of a useful asset.

Current equipment does not have isolation systems that prevent the unwanted reading of articles with labels that, being located near the tunnel, are not the object of measurement.

Thus, it is verified that equipment that allows the processing of large volumes of labels simultaneously and in very short periods of time is not known to the present applicant.

For all the above, the applicant of the present utility model application detects the need to develop a tunnel of reduced dimensions that offers an effective solution to perform the measurement in a very fast and agile way of a large plurality of RFID tags that are contained in the package to be monitored and avoiding the unwanted reading of other packages or products not subject to measurement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The tunnel that is recommended enables the rapid reading of a large number of RFID tags simultaneously, specifically even 200 tags per second.

Advantageously, the tunnel of the invention has a length, preferably one meter, being substantially shorter than known ones.

Likewise, the tunnel of the invention is provided with fast closing and opening entry and exit guillotine doors, these being essential elements to offer a high reading speed.

The aforementioned tunnel entry and exit guillotine doors allow a box or package to be enclosed inside for reading the RFID tags that allow identifying the products it contains.

In this way, it is feasible to simultaneously read a large number of RFID tags by using a high-power incidence antenna, acting inside the tunnel.

Specifically, the entrance and exit guillotine doors remain closed during the emission of the antenna at high power - delimiting a closed space - and prevent the emitted wave from rebounding outside the aforementioned delimited space. In other words, the entrance and exit guillotine doors prevent the waves from bouncing towards areas where the package or product to be identified is not found, thus avoiding the crossing of unwanted readings due to the presence of nearby packages or products with other RFID tags that you do not want to read at that time.

That is why the tunnel of the invention is a system that offers a high effectiveness of massive reading of RFID tags simultaneously, the percentage of errors or rejections being minimal.

Due to all of the above, the essence of the invention developed focuses on the mechanical configuration to provide high speed when closing and opening the entry and exit guillotine doors and, thus, increase the speed of reading and mass coding of the labels. RFID.

The guarantee offered by the tunnel to encapsulate the package or product to be read allows the length of the equipment to be shortened, considerably reducing its dimensions with respect to known ones that also work at a lower reading speed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is going to be made below and with the aim of helping a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical realization thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a side view of the tunnel of the invention, showing the interior of the tunnel made according to a preferred embodiment of the object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a perspective view of the representation of the tunnel of the invention, where the housings and side door are moved to observe the interior of the tunnel.

Figure 3.- Shows a perspective representation of the tunnel of the invention according to the embodiment represented in the previous figures.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the outlined figures that accompany the present invention, specifically, in Figures 1 and 2, we observe that the high-speed tunnel for reading a massive number of RFID tags contained in a package is made up of, at the less, the following items:

- Some means of transport (1) through which the package moves,

- An entrance guillotine door (2) to activate its rapid opening and closing, - An exit guillotine door (3) to activate its rapid opening and closing, - A high-power antenna (4) for measuring labels RFID, and

- A photocell (5).

As can be seen in figure 1 - where the side door (11) of the tunnel is open - the transport means (1) are preferably integrated by a plurality of rollers that facilitate the transport of the packages or products to be read, the means of transport (1) being automated to facilitate said movement.

In this way, when a package is placed on the means of transport (1), the photocell (5) identifies its presence and activates the closing of the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3 ) by means of a motor (6) associated with a transmission shaft (7), pulleys (8) and belts (9). The aforementioned elements are clearly seen in Figure 2, where the tunnel of the invention is represented by removing the outer casings (18) and the side door (11) that gives access to the interior of the tunnel.

Specifically, the entry (2) and exit (3) guillotine doors in the closed position They enable the antenna (4) to be activated to measure or read the RFID tags present inside the tunnel.

Preferably, as represented in figure 1, the tunnel has a plurality of antennas, specifically four high-power antennas (4),

located an antenna (4) in the upper part of the tunnel, a second antenna (4 ') in the back of the tunnel, a third antenna (4' ') in the side door (11) and a fourth antenna (4' '') in the lower part of the means of transport (1) to guarantee that the emission from the set of antennas emits completely sweeping the closed area delimited by the tunnel.

son las encargadas de emitir ondas de radiofrecuencia de alta potencia, identificando y midiendo la pluralidad de etiquetas RFID contenidas en los paquetes que se encuentran sobre los medios de transporte (1).Precisely, the aforementioned antennas (4),

They are responsible for emitting high power radio frequency waves, identifying and measuring the plurality of RFID tags contained in the packages that are on the means of transport (1).

It should be noted that all the elements that make up the high-speed tunnel are controlled by a control unit (15), the control unit (15) being associated with an electrical panel (16) for proper operation, such as as we can see in figure 3.

It should be noted that the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3) run through guides (10) during their operation.

Optionally, both the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3) have a gasket - not represented in the figures accompanying the present invention - located on their perimeter. Said gasket is preferably made of a textile material that is opaque to the RFID signal.

On the other hand, the high speed tunnel preferably has a plurality of beacons (12) that allow to visually show the status of the machine process. For example, the beacons (12) visually and / or audibly indicate the following moments:

- the operation of the tunnel in which the products or packages are automatically moved by means of transport,

- the stop, or

- the moment of its reading in which the antennas are emitting.

Optionally, in figure 3 we can see that the high-speed tunnel has a pre-tunnel (13) and post-tunnel (13) installed before the entrance guillotine door (2) -integrating a pre-tunnel - and after the exit guillotine door (3) - integrating a post tunnel - to increase the safety distances between packages and avoid the propagation of the wave emitted by the high-power antennas outside the tunnel of the invention. Preferably, safety barriers (19) are arranged on the pre-tunnel (13) and post-tunnel (13) to prevent the entrapment of third parties, as can be seen in Figure 3.

Advantageously, both the pre-tunnel (13) and the post-tunnel (13) prevent interference or cross-readings from occurring with other RFID tags close to those that are actually desired to be identified. For example, if a package is outside the tunnel, but very close to the entrance guillotine door, both the presence of the pre-tunnel and the complete closure of the entrance guillotine door guarantee that the waves emitted by the antennas do not reach the RFID tags located close to the measurement object.

Additionally, the high speed tunnel is made up of a flap closing device (17). As can be seen in figure 1, the flap closing device (17) is preferably made up of a movable polycarbonate plate that allows the flaps of a package to be closed in case it is necessary associated with two photocells - not shown in the figures that accompany the present specification - which allow the detection of packages with open flaps.

Finally, it should be noted that optionally, the high-speed tunnel has leveling supports (14) at its base, represented in any of the figures that accompany the present report, the leveling support elements (14) being a guarantee for the tunnel installation in a stable position.

Claims (9)

1§.- High speed tunnel for mass reading and encoding of RFID tags contained in a package that includes, at least: - Means of transport (1) through which the package moves, - An entrance guillotine door (2) to activate its rapid opening and closing, - An exit guillotine door (3) to activate its rapid opening and closing, - A high-power antenna (4) for measuring labels RFID, and - A photocell (5), characterized by what The photocell (5) identifies the presence of the package moving through the tunnel, activating the closing of the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3) by means of a motor (6) associated with a transmission shaft (7), pulleys (8) and belts (9); and activating the antenna (4) when the tunnel presents the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3) closed. 2§.- High-speed tunnel for mass reading and coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1§, because the means of transport (1), the motor (6), the photocell (5), the antenna (4) high power, the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3) are controlled by a control unit (15) associated with an electrical panel (16). 3§.- High-speed tunnel for reading and mass coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1§, characterized in that the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3) run through through guides (10) for its movement during its closing and opening. 4§.- High-speed tunnel for reading and mass coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1§ or 3§, characterized in that the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3 ) have a joint located on their perimeter. 5§.- High-speed tunnel for reading and mass coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 4§, characterized in that the gasket present on the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door ( 3) are made of a textile material opaque to the RFID signal. 6§.- High-speed tunnel for mass reading and coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1§, because it additionally presents three high-power antennas. 7§.- High-speed tunnel for reading and massive coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1§, because it has two photocells for detection of packages with open flaps. 8§.- High-speed tunnel for mass reading and coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1§, because it has a pre-tunnel (13) installed before the entrance guillotine door (2) and a post-tunnel (13) installed behind the exit guillotine door (3). 9§.- High-speed tunnel for mass reading and coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 8§, characterized in that it has security barriers (19) arranged on the entrance guillotine door (2) and the exit guillotine door (3). 10 ".- High speed tunnel for reading and mass coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to claim 1", characterized in that the means of transport (1) are automated for the evacuation of the package. 11 ".- High speed tunnel for mass reading and coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has beacons (12) for identifying its operating status. 12 ".- High speed tunnel for reading and mass coding of RFID tags contained in a package, according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that it has leveling supports (14).