An RFID tag for capacitively coupled RFID communication with an RFID reader. The RFID tag comprising an integrated circuit (IC), the IC including a first RFID tag electrode arranged to capacitively couple with a first electrode of the RFID reader to form a first capacitor, and a second RFID tag electrode arranged to capacitively couple with a second electrode of the RFID reader to form a second capacitor when the RFID tag is in a first position relative to the RFID reader; power supply circuitry configured to extract power from a first time-varying signal received from the RFID reader via at least one of the first RFID tag electrode and the second RFID tag electrode, and supply the extracted power to circuitry of the RFID tag; and data transmission circuitry configured to receive the extracted power from the power supply circuitry, and transmit data to the RFID reader via at least one of the first RFID tag electrode and the second RFID tag electrode.

Personal portable items are subject to potential loss or misplacement by their owners or authorized users. A system and method is operative with personal portable items which are locally associated with a processor, memory, and sensors (either built-in or via attached sensing device). The memory stores environmental parameters which indicate a potential chance or possibility that an item may be lost, stolen, or misplaced in the near-term, proximate future. The stored parameters are customized to the historical or expected uses of the portable item by a particular user or owner in particular, user-specific contexts. The sensors sense the environment of the portable item in real-time. If the sensed environment or sensed item usage matches the environmental parameters which indicate risk of loss or misplacement, an alert element signals the portable item's user, enabling the user to take anticipatory action to prevent item loss. In an embodiment, at least one first portable item of two or more portable items which are both intended to be substantially on-person of an authorized user, is configured to monitor a status of a second other portable item with which it is paired. If the first portable item detects an anomalous status of the second portable item, the first portable item alerts the authorized user that the second item is at risk of being lost, misplaced, or stolen.

Apparatus, systems, articles of manufacture, and methods to facilitate capacitive code comparing are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a comparator to receive a first portion of a first input and a second portion of a second input, the comparator including a capacitor. The example apparatus further includes a peripheral determination circuit to cause the capacitor to couple the first portion to the second portion; in response to coupling the first portion to the second portion, ground the capacitor; sense a current discharged by the grounded capacitor; and determine a Hamming distance of the first input and the second input based on the sensed current discharged by the capacitor.

A portable item reporting device may be attached to a portable item, embedded within the portable item, or integrated into the portable item. The device is configured for sustained collocation with the portable item, and includes a sensor or sensors to locally monitor portable item environmental factors. The reporting device provides self-monitoring services for its associated portable item. The device can identify usage(s) or behavior(s), environmental context(s), or operational parameter(s) of the portable item. The reporting device is a generalized monitoring device which can be configured for use with and is adaptable to a wide variety of different portable items, for different users with varying intended uses for the portable item. The reporting device can be dynamically configured and adapted to identify and provide alerts for a wide variety of displaced conditions, that is, for problem conditions which are unique for a particular portable item, a particular user, and/or particular context of usage. The device may be configurable for different removable types of sensors.

A tag board includes an insulation substrate with a lower surface bonded to the outside and an upper surface including a recess, an upper surface conductor on the upper surface of the insulation substrate, a ground conductor on the lower surface of the insulation substrate, and a short-circuit-portion through conductor that penetrates the insulation substrate in the thickness direction and electrically connects the upper surface conductor and the ground conductor to each other. The short-circuit-portion through conductor is connected to the upper surface conductor only at a part of the periphery of the upper surface conductor.

A reader device for attachment to a smart device comprising a display, the reader comprising an antenna, processing and reading circuitry, and a communications module, wherein the antenna, the processing and reading circuitry, the processor and the communications module are coupled to each other, and whereby the antenna encloses said display. When a card is tapped on the display, the antenna receives a signal and transmits the signal to the processing and reading circuitry. The processing and reading circuitry processes the signal to produce data, and the produced data is transmitted to a device external to the reader device by the communications module.

A bioptic barcode reader configured to be supported by a workstation and having a lower housing with a platter having a generally horizontal window and a tower extending generally perpendicular to the lower housing and having a generally vertical window. A radio-frequency identification radio is positioned within the lower housing and is communicatively coupled to a feed patch positioned within the lower housing and proximate, but spaced apart from, the platter such that the feed patch is capacitively coupled to the platter and configured to energize the platter such that the platter is operative as a radio-frequency identification reader antenna.

A bioptic barcode reader configured to be supported by a workstation and having a lower housing with a platter having a generally horizontal window and a tower extending generally perpendicular to the lower housing and having a generally vertical window. A radio-frequency identification radio is positioned within the lower housing and is communicatively coupled to a feed patch positioned within the lower housing and proximate, but spaced apart from, the platter such that the feed patch is capacitively coupled to the platter and configured to energize the platter such that the platter is operative as a radio-frequency identification reader antenna.

A reader device for attachment to a smart device comprising a display, the reader comprising an antenna, processing and reading circuitry, and a communications module, wherein the antenna, the processing and reading circuitry, the processor and the communications module are coupled to each other, and whereby the antenna encloses said display. When a card is tapped on the display, the antenna receives a signal and transmits the signal to the processing and reading circuitry. The processing and reading circuitry processes the signal to produce data, and the produced data is transmitted to a device external to the reader device by the communications module.

A mobile terminal including a wireless communication unit configured to provide wireless communication; a display; and a back cover mounted to a rear surface of a body of the mobile terminal. Further, the back cover includes an accommodation unit formed on one surface of the back cover, and configured to accommodate a card inserted into the accommodation unit; a coil configured to convert an electric signal from the card into a magnetic signal to be transmitted to a payment machine; and a data terminal electrically connected to the coil, disposed at a position contacting a corresponding data terminal of the card inserted into the accommodation unit and configured to transfer the electrical signal from the card to the coil.