JP7476722B2 - RF tagged packaging - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to RF tags (RF: Radio Frequency), a medium used for wireless individual identification.

In order to alleviate serious labor shortages in rural areas and to make payment operations more efficient, retailers such as convenience stores and supermarkets are considering introducing automatic payment systems that use RF tags. An RF tag is an information medium that is attached to objects or people and is an automatic recognition technology that uses wireless communication. RF tags are also called wireless tags, IC tags, or RFID tags.

In an automatic checkout system that uses RF tags, an RF tag is attached to each product sold at a retail store. Then, when a customer pays for the products they want to purchase (for example, products in a shopping basket), a reader/writer compatible with the RF tags reads the product identification data that identifies the products all at once from the RF tags attached to the products the customer wants to purchase.

Many products sold at retail stores have their contents housed in packaging made of metal materials that block wireless communication. Unless some measure is taken, the metal materials used in the packaging will impair the communication performance of the RF tags attached to such products. For this reason, when introducing an automatic checkout system, some measure will be required to ensure that the communication performance of the RF tags on such products is not impaired.

As an invention related to this ingenuity, the applicant has disclosed in Patent Document 1 an RF tag-attached package in which an RF tag label is mounted with an antenna having a structure including a matching circuit, a linear element, and a planar coupling element that is joined to an IC chip, and the RF tag label is attached so that an opening machined into the package formed from a metal material overlaps with the linear element and matching circuit, and the planar coupling element overlaps with the metal material of the package.

JP 2020-21389 A

However, when an RF tag label is attached over an opening machined into a package, as in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, the adhesive layer of the RF tag label is exposed at the opening on the opposite side to where the RF tag label is attached, which can cause problems such as packages sticking together.

The present invention aims to provide a package with an RF tag such that, even if the RF tag label is affixed over an opening machined into the package, the adhesive layer of the RF tag label is not exposed at the opening on the opposite side to where the RF tag label is affixed.

The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, is a package with an RF tag, in which an RF tag label is affixed to a package formed at least using a metal material. The RF tag label comprises an antenna substrate on which an antenna having a matching circuit and a planar coupling element bonded to an IC chip is mounted, an adhesive layer used when attaching the RF tag label to the package, and a glue-blocking layer laminated on the back surface of the adhesive layer in accordance with the arrangement position of the matching circuit. The RF tag label is affixed to the package such that an opening hole of a size large enough to accommodate the entire matching circuit is processed in the marginal portion of the package that does not contain any contents, the glue-blocking layer is shaped to expand the periphery of the opening hole, all of the opening hole is blocked by the glue-blocking layer, and a part or all of the planar coupling element overlaps the metal material of the package at least via the adhesive layer.

The present invention can be applied to various laminated bags formed by sealing processing, and when the laminated bag is used as the package, the blank portion of the package that does not contain any contents becomes the sealed portion of the laminated bag.

The present invention can also be applied to metal cans, and when a metal can is used as the package, the blank portion of the package that does not contain any contents becomes the edge of the metal can.

The RF tagged package according to the present invention is configured so that the planar coupling element of the antenna and the metallic material of the package are electrostatically coupled, and the metallic material of the package can be used as the antenna radiation plate, so that the communication performance required for an automatic checkout system can be obtained even with various packages using metallic materials. In addition, the RF tagged package according to the present invention has a glue-blocking layer laminated on the backside of the adhesive layer on the side opposite to where the RF tag label is affixed, so that the adhesive layer of the RF tag label is not exposed in the opening.

1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a package with an RF tag according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the layer structure of a laminate film used to form a packaging body. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the internal structure of a package with an RF tag. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an RF tag label attached to a package. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining in detail the location where the RF tag label is affixed. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an RF tag label according to a modified example. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an RF tag-equipped package according to a first modified example. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an RF tag-equipped package according to a second modified example. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an RF tag-equipped package according to Modification 3. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an RF tag-equipped package according to a fourth modified example.

From here, we will describe a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Note that the following description does not restrict the technical scope of the present invention, but is provided to facilitate understanding.

Figure 1 is a diagram explaining the RF tagged package 1 according to this embodiment, Figure 2 is a diagram explaining the layer structure of the base material 100 used to form the package 10, and Figure 3 is a diagram explaining the internal structure of the RF tagged package 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the RF tagged package 1 according to this embodiment is composed of at least a package 10 formed using a metal material 100c, and an RF tag label 2 affixed to the package 10. The shape of the package 10 constituting the RF tagged package 1 may be any shape as long as the present invention can be implemented, but in this embodiment, the package 10 is a laminated hanging bag, which is one type of laminated bag.

The packaging body 10 according to this embodiment is formed using a laminate film with a metal material 100c (aluminum foil in this case) laminated thereon as the substrate 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 100 has a five-layer structure of PET 100a (polyethylene terephthalate)/SPE 100b (lamination with polyethylene)/metal material 100c (aluminum foil)/SPE 100d/LLD 100e (antistatic polyethylene).

As shown in FIG. 3, the package 10 according to this embodiment is formed by folding the five-layered base material 100 in half and sealing three sides. In the package 10 according to this embodiment, the inside of the unsealed portion becomes the space for containing the contents 101.

In the RF tag-equipped package 1, the RF tag label 2 is affixed to the blank portion of the package 10 that does not contain the contents 101. In the package 10 shown in FIG. 1, the blank portion of the package 10 that does not contain the contents 101 becomes a sealed portion 11. The package 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a top seal portion 11a with a display hole 13 machined in the center and both side seal portions 11b as the sealed portion 11, and in this embodiment, the RF tag label 2 is affixed so as to cover the opening hole 12 machined on the right side of the top seal portion 11a of the package 10.

Figure 4 is a diagram explaining the RF tag label 2 to be affixed to the package 10. The frequency band used by the RF tag label 2 for wireless communication is the UHF band (e.g., 860 MHz to 960 MHz).

Figure 4(a) illustrates the layer structure of the RF tag label 2. As illustrated in Figure 4(a), the RF tag label 2 according to this embodiment includes a surface sheet 20, a first adhesive layer 21, an antenna substrate 23 on which at least an antenna 22 connected to an IC chip 222 is mounted, a second adhesive layer 24 used for adhesion to the packaging body 10, and an adhesive-killing layer 25.

The surface sheet 20 is a sheet that becomes the surface of the RF tag label 2. The surface sheet 20 can be made of synthetic resin films such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP), as well as art paper, and various information such as the product name and an illustration of the RF tag can be printed on the surface of the surface sheet 20.

The first adhesive layer 21 is a layer that bonds the surface of the antenna substrate 23, on which the antenna 22 and other components are mounted, to the surface sheet 20. The first adhesive layer 21 can be made of an acrylic or rubber-based adhesive or pressure sensitive adhesive.

Antenna 22 and IC chip 222 connected to it are mounted on antenna substrate 23. Synthetic resin films such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) can be used as antenna substrate 23.

The second adhesive layer 24 is a layer that adheres the surface of the antenna substrate 23 that does not have the antenna 22 mounted thereon to the package 10. An acrylic or rubber-based adhesive can be used for the second adhesive layer 24.

The adhesive-killing layer 25 laminated on the back surface of the second adhesive layer 24 is a layer for eliminating the adhesive force of the portion of the second adhesive layer 24 that overlaps with the opening hole 12 machined in the packaging body 10 when the RF tag label 2 is attached to the packaging body 10. The adhesive-killing layer 25 is formed by a special process that eliminates the adhesive force of the second adhesive layer 24. Known methods for killing adhesive include applying an ink that eliminates adhesive force such as varnish, applying a kill film to eliminate adhesive force, and not applying adhesive to the portion to be killed, but in the present invention, any method of killing adhesive may be used.

Figure 4(b) illustrates the antenna 22 mounted on the antenna substrate 23. As illustrated in Figure 4(b), the antenna 22 mounted on the antenna substrate 23 is a half-wave dipole antenna. Specifically, the antenna 22 is configured by connecting two strip-shaped planar coupling elements 221 to both sides of a matching circuit 220 to which an IC chip 222 is connected. The matching circuit 220 is in a loop shape, and has an inductance that cancels out the capacitance present between the input terminals of the IC chip 222.

Figure 4(c) explains the relative relationship between the opening hole 12 and the glue-killing layer 25. In Figure 4(c), the glue-killing layer 25 is shown by a dashed line, and the opening hole 12 is shown by a dotted line. As shown in Figure 4(c) and other figures, the opening hole 12 processed in the packaging body 10 is large enough to accommodate all of the matching circuits 220 of the antenna 22. The glue-killing layer 25 is laminated on the back surface of the second adhesive layer 24 in accordance with the arrangement position of the matching circuit 220. Its size is large enough to accommodate all of the opening hole 12 in order to eliminate the adhesive force of the part of the second adhesive layer 24 that overlaps with the opening hole 12 processed in the packaging body 10. Specifically, the shape of the glue-killing layer 25 is such that the periphery of the opening hole 12 is widened by providing a margin of a certain width, taking into account the positional deviation when the RF tag label 2 is attached to the packaging body 10.

Figure 5 is a diagram explaining in detail the location where the RF tag label 2 is affixed. The location of the packaging body 10 where the RF tag label 2 is affixed has an opening 12 machined to remove the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10.

In the RF tag-attached package 1 according to this embodiment, the RF tag label 2 is attached to the package 10 such that all of the openings are blocked by the adhesive layer 25 on the back surface of the RF tag label 2, and a portion (end side) of the planar coupling element 221 of the antenna 22 overlaps with the base material 100 of the package 10 via at least the second adhesive layer 24. The adhesive layer 25 is laminated on the back surface of the second adhesive layer 24 in accordance with the arrangement position of the matching circuit 220, so that when the RF tag label 2 is attached to the package 10 and viewed in plan view, the matching circuit 220 is entirely contained within the opening 12 of the package 10.

By attaching the RF tag label 2 to the packaging body 10 in this manner, the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10 is not present below the matching circuit 220 when the RF tag label 2 is attached to the packaging body 10, so the inductance of the matching circuit 220 does not change significantly. In contrast, when the RF tag label 2 is attached to the packaging body 10, each end of the planar bonding elements 221 overlaps with the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10 at least via the second adhesive layer 24, and the planar bonding elements 221 are able to electrostatically bond with the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10.

By electrostatically bonding the planar bonding element 221 with the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10, the radio waves (current) flowing through the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10 is transmitted to the antenna 22 via the planar bonding element 221, and the radio waves (current) flowing through the antenna 22 is transmitted to the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10 via the planar bonding element 221, so that the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10 functions as a radiating element of the antenna 22 mounted on the RF tag label 2. If the metal material 100c of the packaging body 10 can be made to function as a radiating element of the antenna 22 mounted on the RF tag label 2, the communication performance required for an automatic settlement system can be obtained with the RF tag label 2 attached to the packaging body 10, even if the size of the RF tag label 2 is made compact.

In addition, in the RF tag-attached package 1 according to this embodiment, the adhesive-blocking layer 25 of the RF tag label 2 is exposed at the opening 12 on the side opposite to where the RF tag label 2 is affixed, so the opening 12 on the side opposite to where the RF tag label 2 is affixed does not have adhesive power.

From here, we will explain modified examples of RF tagged packaging 1.

The RF tag label 2 described using FIG. 4 is merely one example of an RF tag label 2. Also, the antenna 22 mounted on the RF tag label 2 is merely one example of an antenna 22 mounted on the RF tag label 2.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an RF tag label 3 according to a modified example. The layer structure of the RF tag label 3 according to the modified example differs from that of the RF tag label 2. The RF tag label 3 according to the modified example comprises an antenna substrate 30 on which an antenna 31 and an IC chip 313 bonded thereto are mounted, and an adhesive layer 32 laminated on the surface of the antenna substrate 30 on which the antenna 31 and other components are not mounted.

The antenna 31 mounted on the RF tag label 3 according to the modified example is also different from the RF tag label 2 described above. The antenna 31 has a loop-shaped matching circuit 310 to which an IC chip 313 is joined, one linear element 312, and one planar coupling element 311, and is structured such that the linear element 312 and the planar coupling element 311 are each connected to the matching circuit 310 so that the linear element 312 and the planar coupling element 311 face each other across the matching circuit 310. In this embodiment, the linear element 312 is connected to the matching circuit 310 via the waveguide line 314b, and the planar coupling element 311 is connected to the matching circuit 310 via the waveguide line 314a.

As shown in FIG. 6, the RF tag label 3 according to the modified example is attached so that the linear element 312 and the matching circuit 310 overlap the opening hole 12, and all of the planar coupling element 311 overlaps the base material 100 on which the metal material 100c is laminated.

In addition, since the present invention only requires processing the opening hole 12 into the package 10, the present invention can be applied to various laminated bags other than laminated hanging bags.

Figure 7 is a diagram explaining an RF tagged package 4 according to modified example 1, Figure 8 is a diagram explaining an RF tagged package 5 according to modified example 2, and Figure 9 is a diagram explaining an RF tagged package 6 according to modified example 3.

The RF tagged package 4 according to the first modification is a package 40 made of a pillow bag, such as a potato chip bag, and the package 40 has a top seal 41a, a bottom seal 41b, and a back seal 41c as the sealed seal portion 41. In the RF tagged package 4 according to the first modification, the base material of the package 40 is a laminate film having a layered structure of OPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene film)/PE (polyethylene)/VMPET (aluminum vapor-deposited polyethylene terephthalate)/PE (polyethylene)/CPP (non-oriented polypropylene film), and an opening 42 is made in the sealed top seal portion 41a, and the RF tag label 2 is attached in the manner described above.

The RF tagged package 5 according to the modified example 2 has a form in which the package 50 is a self-supporting standing pouch bag. The base material of the package 50 according to the modified example 2 is the same as that of the RF tagged package 1 according to the embodiment, and the package 50 has a sealed portion 51 with four sides sealed as a margin. In the RF tagged package 5 according to the modified example 2, an oblique opening hole 52 is made on the bottom side of the sealed portion 51, and the RF tag label 2 is attached in the manner described above.

The RF tagged package 6 according to the third modification is in the form of a PTP package 60 that contains multiple tablets, and aluminum foil is laminated onto the backing of the package 60. In the package 60 according to the third modification, the area where no space for containing the tablets is formed becomes the sealed portion 51, and an opening 62 is machined on the top side of the sealed portion 61, and the RF tag label 2 is attached in the manner described above.

The present invention can be applied not only to laminated bags formed by sealing, but also to metal cans. Figure 10 is a diagram explaining the RF tag-equipped package 7 according to the fourth modified example.

The RF tag-equipped package 7 according to the fourth modification is in the form of a metal can as the package 70. In the RF tag-equipped package 7 according to the fourth modification, an opening 72 is made in the edge 71 of the package 70, which is a metal can, and the RF tag label 2 is attached in the manner described above. Note that even in the fourth modification, the second adhesive layer 24 and the like are present under the antenna 22 of the RF tag label 2, so that the planar bonding element 221 of the antenna 22 of the RF tag label 2 and the edge 71 of the package 70 are electrostatically bonded.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 RF tag-equipped package 10 Package 11 Sealed portion 12 Opening 2 RF tag label 22 Antenna 220 Matching circuit 221 Planar coupling element 222 IC chip 23 Antenna substrate 24 Second adhesive layer 25 Adhesive-killing layer 3 RF tag label according to modified example 4 RF tag-equipped package according to modified example 1 5 RF tag-equipped package according to modified example 2 6 RF tag-equipped package according to modified example 3 7 RF tag-equipped package according to modified example 4

Claims (3)

A package with an RF tag, which is a package formed at least using a metal material and has an RF tag label attached thereto,
The RF tag label includes an antenna substrate on which an antenna having a matching circuit and a planar coupling element bonded to an IC chip is mounted, an adhesive layer used for attaching the RF tag label to the package, and an adhesive-blocking layer laminated on the back surface of the adhesive layer in accordance with the position of the matching circuit.
A package with an RF tag is characterized in that an opening hole large enough to accommodate all of the matching circuits is machined in the margin of the package that does not contain any contents, the glue-blocking layer is shaped to expand around the opening hole, all of the opening hole is blocked by the glue-blocking layer, and the RF tag label is affixed to the package so that part or all of the planar bonding element overlaps with the metal material of the package at least via the adhesive layer. The RF tag-equipped package according to claim 1, characterized in that the package is a laminated bag formed by sealing, and the blank portion of the package that does not contain any contents is made into the sealed portion of the laminated bag. 2. The RF tag-equipped package according to claim 1, wherein the package is a metal can, and the blank portion of the package that does not contain any contents is the edge of the metal can.

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