PL235178B1 - Method of producing information boards, in particular registration plates for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is a method of producing information plates, in particular vehicle license plates and other information plates with an implemented passive RFID tag (Radio Frequency Identification), applicable in plants producing information plates and vehicle license plates.

In the world, several dozen companies (<50) are involved in the production of license plates. However, only the largest and most important companies in this industry produce innovative license plates, e.g. by using various security methods. Most of them are located in Germany. These are the companies: Toennjes (www.toennjes.de), EHA (www.eha-group.com), Grewe (www.wg-grewe.eu), Lange (www.fritz-lange.com), Sievers (www. autoschilder-sievers.de). In the remaining Western European markets, there are only a few companies involved in the production of license plates, they are: JKG KNIERIMEN (www.kentekenplaat.nl), CREST (www.crest.nl) and Fabric Auto (www.fabricauto.com). The eastern market consists mainly of companies with capital related to the above-mentioned. There are companies producing license plates in Russia, including PPD ZANK (www.fpy.ru), ROTAK (www.rotak.ru) and BUBORG (www.byborg.ru) and ZNAK (www.znak.ru). The manufacturers presented above use technologies to protect plates against unauthorized production in their production processes in the form of e.g. laser marking, applying holograms with nanotext or microtext elements in hot-stamping technology, making laser signs visible only at certain viewing angles of the license plate, laser printed QR codes. So far, no license plate has been used in which a passive RFID tag is placed between the aluminum strip and the base reflective foil of the license plate. Such fusion ensures that an attempt to separate the tag from the license plate (with the data stored in it) for the purpose of e.g. its unauthorized use ends with its irreversible destruction and the inability to read the data. Currently, stickers for the windshield of the vehicle with passive RFID tags in their structure are increasingly used. The windshield sticker solution is offered by many manufacturers not only of license plates. None of the companies mentioned above offers products related to the technology of unbreakable connection of the tag with the license plate while maintaining certain parameters (enabling the correct reading of the recorded data).

There are solutions, presented in the patent documentation SK 500822017, SK 500882027 or WO 201401265, where the license plate has a permanently installed chip or is an antenna element that allows reading the encoded data.

The aim of the invention is to implement the RFID technology in information plates, especially license plates. Increasing the functionality of information / registration plates by giving them the features of a document and an object / vehicle identification medium that can be widely used in information, control, access and registration systems.

The essence of the invention, which is the method of producing information plates, especially vehicle license plates, integrated with a passive RFID tag, consists in the fact that after unwinding the aluminum tape from the roll, the tape is moved to a straightening station. Subsequently, the belt is heated to remove any moisture from its surface. Slot openings are cut on the tape for embedding the passive RFID tag, and then the RFID tag is taken with the applicator and positioned in the cut slot of the tape. Before the aluminum tape is covered with reflective foil, the protective layer from the self-adhesive reflective foil is peeled off and the inner side of the foil is demetallized, especially in the zone of the passive RFID tag, by acting on the reflective foil with laser rays. Then, in the lamination process, the above-mentioned reflective foil. The tape with the reflective foil applied is cut to a specific size in a hydraulic press. Successively, by embossing, the desired image / symbol is formed, and the vehicle registration number is formed on the registration plate. The embossed surface is colored in the hot-stamping process. The socket made on the board as a result of cutting a hole in the aluminum tape is secured with a protective compound. The finished boards are moved to the warehouse.

Thanks to the solution according to the invention, the following technical and operational effects were obtained:

1.for the production of information boards:

- increasing the functionality of the information board enabling the identification and verification of various data,

- precise identification of objects,

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- storing data on the location of objects,

- record of data on inspections and repairs,

- keeping records and inventory,

1.for the production of license plates:

- automatic collection of parking fees,

- ticket payment verifications,

- verification of access to areas closed to normal traffic,

- location of the vehicle in motion,

- measuring the intensity and traffic management,

- registration and verification of the validity of technical inspections of vehicles,

- identification of the vehicle in motion,

- verification and comparison of information stored in the license plate tag memory, e.g. from the so-called the third board.

1. This method can be used to produce:

- vehicle registration plates;

- energy boards, used to mark the elements of the power grid (e.g. transformer stations, power poles, transmission stations);

- city information systems (e.g. street signs, city maps).

The main advantage of the solution according to the presented method is the integrity of the tag and the information / license plate, which is created at the stage of its production, without the possibility of their subsequent separation (technology of connecting the RFID tag with the license plate in the production process, without the user being able to influence the data recorded on the medium). The developed technology does not damage the reader during the production of plates, both at the stage of production of raw plates (i.e. without a registration number) and during their personalization, i.e. stamping the registration number and its coloring, as well as during assembly. The technological aspect of integrating the tag with the array generated a number of problems that have been solved. The main issues were the pressures that the plate is subjected to during the stamping of the registration number and the rim, and the high temperature of approx. 200 ° C during the processes of dyeing letters and numbers of the registration number. Thus, the marker was placed in such a place in the table as to minimize the above influences. The developed technological process introduced new, advantageous solutions of an innovative nature, which were not previously available in alternative solutions of the product itself, i.e. stickers for the windshield of the vehicle with RFID.

Another advantage of the proposed solution is the introduction of a new security information / registration plate in the form of a passive RFID UHF transponder placed next to the already known other security features, which include: holograms, QR codes, data matrix, watermarks. The said security features are intended to give the information / registration plate the features of the document and the identification medium. The identification functions of the boards can be easily accessed through smartphone applications and adapters, as well as through the more extensive fixed infrastructure.

The invention is illustrated by the following example shown in the drawing, where Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a technological line for the production of raw license plates, where a socket arrangement of technological line elements is shown, in which: 1 - aluminum tape is prepared for the lamination process (unwinding and straightening); 2 - cutting holes in the aluminum tape; 3 - application of passive RFID tags; 4 - the process of demetalization and lamination of the reflective foil; 5 - board cutting and rim embossing, while Fig. 2 shows: Diagram of new components of the blank board production line, where: 1 - aluminum strip after unwinding; 2 - aluminum tape with a cut hole and an attached RFID tag; 3 - aluminum tape covered with reflective foil; 4 - reflective foil on the spool; 5 - reflective foil with peeled off protective paper; 6 - protective paper; 7 - the process of cutting holes in the aluminum tape; 8 - application of passive RFID tags; 9 - demetalization process; 10 - lamination process.

Example

The production process of information and registration plates is carried out according to the following simplified scheme:

1. Preparation of aluminum tape for the lamination process - unwinding and straightening (this part of the process will remain unchanged).

2. Cutting holes in the aluminum strip (new part of the process). The slot opening to convert the array into an antenna amplifier must coincide with the demetallization area

The reflective foil. The slot punching module is based on the positioning system of the hydro-pneumatic actuator - it is a new element of the process.

3. Application of passive RFID tags - the RFID tag applicator module with the antenna is a new element of the technological process.

4. Removal of the protective paper from the reflective foil and demetalization (modification of the process of removing the protective paper from the foil and implementation of a new demetalization process). Demetalization of a fragment of the reflective foil from the adhesive side is carried out with a laser device - it is a new element of the technological process.

5. Lamination (this part of the process will remain unchanged).

6. Cutting and stamping (this part of the process will remain unchanged).

7. Securing the slot with a visible RFID tag (new part of the process).

1. Preparation of aluminum tape for the lamination process - unwinding and straightening

The web of aluminum tape is introduced to the technological line in such a way that it can be subjected to the laminating process. The aluminum tape is unwound on a horizontal unwinder. After unwrapping, the aluminum tape is straightened by passing through a system of steel-rubber rollers. The purpose of straightening is to prevent spontaneous changes in the shape of the board during operation and to remove the sickle-like effect. This part of the license plate production process remains unchanged from the technology used today.

2. Cutting holes in the aluminum tape

In order to open the Faraday cage that is formed when sticking the passive RFID tag on the aluminum strip, a hole will be made in the aluminum strip at the place of integration with the tag. The hole is the antenna for the tag and is 106 x 3mm in size for the most efficient operation of the passive RFID tag. The hole is made using a hydropneumatic press and a cutting tool, 13 mm from the lower edge, at equal distances from the sides of the board (applies to Polish boards).

3. Application of passive RFID tags

A sticker with a passive RFID tag is placed in the place of the cut hole. The process is carried out with the use of a labeling head that applies about 20-30 markers per min.

4. Removing the protective paper from the reflective foil and demetalizing

Reflective foil in its structure contains a thin layer of aluminum and optical systems in the form of glass balls (reflective elements). Similarly to aluminum strip, in order to avoid the formation of a Faraday cage at the point of integration of the foil with the passive RFID tag, it is necessary to partially remove the aluminum structure. Thanks to this, a "window" will be created in the foil, forming a coupled dipole (antenna amplifier) with an integrated passive tag. The demetalization process is carried out on the inner layer of the foil after it has been detached from the protective paper. Demetalization is performed with a writing or mask laser with appropriately selected parameters (power and wavelength). The "window" made in the demetallization process on the reflective foil has a size of 107 x 4 mm and the position is the same as the opening in the aluminum tape.

5. Lamination

To ensure the lamination process is correct, the aluminum strip is heated in a magnetic oven. The optimal temperature of a properly prepared aluminum sheet for the lamination process is within 22: 24 ° C. The laminating process, i.e. covering the aluminum tape with reflective foil, is carried out in the laminator. This process takes place with a small but precisely controlled tension of the reflective foil. The foil is guided so that the distances between the same graphic elements and the "windows" without a layer of aluminum are kept. It is necessary to maintain high accuracy of the process, because the RFID tag must be covered with a "window" located in the reflective foil with an accuracy of not less than ± 0.1 mm. In order to maintain the precision of the process, the tension of the aluminum foil and the mutual position of the aluminum ribbon and the reflective foil are automatically corrected.

6. Cutting and stamping (fig. 1 p. 5)

After the lamination process (laminate), the tape is fed through a system of rollers driven by a servomotor to a hydraulic press, where cutting and pressing takes place. In the hydraulic press, the laminate is cut to a specific length and the edge is embossed. After this process, raw boards with an implemented passive RFID tag will be transported outside the working area of the technological line.

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7. Securing the socket

In order to protect the tag against disintegration attempts - vandalism and weather conditions, the socket created in the license plate as a result of placing the RFID tag is filled with a protective compound in the form of UV-cured epoxy resin (ultraviolet) or hot-melt adhesive.

The characteristics of the technological line with the implemented technology in an exemplary, but not exhaustive, implementation are shown in the drawing, where Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the technological line for the production of raw license plates, and Fig. 2 shows the layout of new components of the line producing blank plates.

Technological line for the production of raw number plates with an RFID tag application module, adapted to the production of plates up to 115 mm high (the so-called "European size"). The components of this technological line in the sequence of the technological process include, among others:

- Horizontal unwinder with a reversible basket - enables unwinding the aluminum tape in the form of coils, stacked on a pallet. The maximum weight of the pallet is 3000 kg, and the maximum diameter of the pallet with aluminum tape coils is 1600 mm;

- Aluminum strip straightener - it is used to remove the sickle-like shape of the aluminum strip after it is unwound from the coils;

- Electro-magnetic heater - it is used to remove residual moisture from the surface of the aluminum tape, and at the same time increases the temperature of the aluminum tape, reducing the memory effect of the reflective foil, which is applied at the next stage of the technological process;

- Electro-pneumatic press - it is used to cut slots constituting the resonant antenna amplifier for the passive RFID tag;

- RFID tags applicator - it is used to take RFID tags from the transport tape and stick them with high accuracy on the aluminum tape in the place of the cut slot;

- Cabinet with automation elements - includes automation elements such as: input / output systems, remote access devices, power supplies for servos and inverters, controller and safety system, overvoltage and overcurrent protections etc .;

- Reflective foil laminator with a laser device - designed for sticking self-adhesive reflective foil to the surface of aluminum tape with the applied RFID tag. The laser device is used to demetallize the aluminum layer in the structure of the reflective foil in the place where the cut slot is. Demetalization of the aluminum layer removes the screen that prevented the induction of the electromagnetic field in the passive marker antenna;

- PVC or acrylic transparent film applicator - is used to apply an additional layer protecting the surfaces of license plates against conditions occurring during normal vehicle operation;

- Aluminum tape feeder integrated with a hydraulic press and a hydraulic unit (driving the press) - it is used for cutting and forming boards of a specific format;

- Pick-up of raw boards - universal (for boards of the 6 x 12 format) or dedicated to boards of the European format (e.g. 112 mm x 520 mm);

- The technological line is equipped with devices that enable the production of plates in accordance with the requirements of the final recipient of license plates. They can be cutting and pressing devices, cutting-punching devices, cutting-pressing-punching devices, cutting devices, made as one-step or two-step devices.

Basic indicative technical data of the technological line are as follows:

• max. line dimensions: 4 mx 18 m, • max. lamination width: 305 mm, • max. foil roll length: 900 m, • max. weight of an aluminum pallet: 3000 kg, • max. aluminum coil diameter: 1600 mm, • max. press pressure: 40 fT (400 kN), • direction of the technological process: from right to left, • automatic pick-up of raw plates with a counting and weighing quantity control system, • electric power supply: 3 ~ 400 V, • pneumatic power supply: 6 bar / 0.32 m ³ / min.

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Additional equipment of the line for the production of raw information / registration plates not shown in the figure:

Stand for testing produced RFID boards

A device for programming data in an RFID tag and verifying the correct operation of the tag. One of the most important production parameters is the defective arrays ratio, especially in terms of data stored in the RFID tag memory. The device, which will 100% control all produced license plates (or other plates with an implemented RFID tag), will be equipped with a data recording system to the tag's memory and a system for verifying and checking the completeness of the recorded data. The device is controlled by a computer with a control application developed for this purpose. The transmitting power of the monitoring device will be approx. 2-4 W of radiated power and max. 10 W input power.

Applicator for applying the filling

The device is used to fill the slots cut out on the technological lines, forming the dipole of the marker-array transmitting system. The gap must be closed (filled) with UV-cured epoxy resin or with hot-melt glue, so that the processor is not damaged by the weather. For this purpose, a device is used to transfer and transport the boards under the dispenser in order to put the filling.

Claims (1)

Patent claim The method of producing information plates, in particular license plates for vehicles integrated with a passive RFID tag, characterized in that after the aluminum tape (1) has been unrolled from the roll, the tape (1) is moved to the straightening station, after which the tape (1) is heated in order to remove moisture from its surface, and slotted holes are cut on the tape for embedding the passive RFID tag (3) and then the RFID tag (3) is taken with the applicator and positioned in the cut slot of the tape (1), in turn before covering it aluminum tape with a reflective foil, the protective layer is peeled off the self-adhesive reflective foil (4) and the foil is demetallized from the inside of the foil, especially in the area where the passive RFID tag is embedded (3), by acting on the reflective foil with laser rays, and then in the lamination a reflective foil (5) is put on the aluminum tape (1), and the tape with the reflective foil (4) is cut to a specific size in a hydraulic press, the desired image / symbol is then formed by extrusion, and the vehicle registration number on the registration plate, then the embossed surface is colored in the hot-stamping process, and the socket formed on the plate by cutting a hole in the aluminum tape ( 1) is secured with a protective mass.